ultralight cocktails

It's a good question… I've never gone the everclear route–usually just use high proof bourbons for lightweight trail alcohol.

However, thinking truly UL, my first thought would be that you could do a lot by infusing the everclear BEFORE you hit the trail… pour half a bottle in a mason jar with some citrus peels or ginger root or peppers or fresh herbs… let it infuse for a day or two, strain it through a cheese cloth or coffee filter, and see what you've got.

I can't think of any reason you couldn't use citus-pepper everclear as a stove fuel (might even smell good cooking), and would give you an edge up on your cocktails.

Another thought would be to look into some of the other powders. Apple cider powder and hot chocolate powder are common, and could give you some good options. Apple cider powder and everclear=hard cider. Drop in a cinnamon red-hot or two and you'd have a spicy, tangy drink.

Hot chocolate (or chai tea) and a little creamer would go a long way with the everclear.

And, of course, don't discount the possibilities of Kool-Aid powders. It'll be more like college punch than gourmet cocktails, but will still be tasty; probably worth looking through that section at the grocery to see what some of the options are these days.

Last thought (and probably the best, if you're thinking gourmet cocktails)–it's not really that heavy to carry a second, tiny bottle of some juice or oil for adding to the everclear. Fresh squeezed ginger root, for instance, is incredibly strong–very little needed to impart an intense ginger flavor. A tiny squeeze bottle of fresh ginger juice, some lime electrolyte powder, a little sugar, a little water and everclear and you'd probably have a rocking cocktail.

Oh, one more thought… Essential oils. Mint or grapefruit essential oil, for instance — intense flavor and could fit in a tiny, tiny dropper. Bitters aren't as concentrated as essential oils, but could also work well and are portable in very small quantities.

No doubt that everclear packs more ethanol per ounce, but have you considered instead pre-mixing some classic cocktails and carrying those instead? It would be a slight weight penalty versus the everclear, but not nearly as much of one as carrying juice. Some good options might be:

Negroni: equal parts gin, campari, and sweet vermoth, orange peel garnish (either skip the garnish or add a drop of orange oil).

Manhattan: about 2oz bourbon to 0.5oz sweet vermouth, dash or two of angostura bitters.

Old Fashioned: 2.5oz bourbon, 0.75tsp 1:1 simple sugar, 3-4 dashes angostura bitters, drop or two of orange oil.

In summer, I've taken an 8oz fuel bottle filled with a pre-mixed negroni. Really delicious drink, sweet with a crisp bitter finish. I also sometimes just take high proof bourbon, with or without bitters depending on my mood when I'm packing.

Everclear (or vodka or jack daniels for that matter) is pretty good with crystal lite lemonade or peach mango tea.

We have made dehydrated blood marys as well. Just.mix up your bloody marry mix the way you like it at home (without the alcohol), and dehydrate in fruit roll trays. Once dry, put in a plastic bag and freeze for an hour (this really helps the.next step), then into the food processor until powdered. Rehydrates best in hot water, but cold is ok if given time. A hot spicy Bloody Mary with a shot of alcohol goes a long way to feeling warm inside on a cold rainy day. Truth to be told, without the alcohol it makes a pretty good soup too.

Note that dehydrated whole baby dill pickles didn't work so well. :)

Also like Russian Tea mix (orange, lemon, and tea mixes with cinnamon and nutmeg) with Grand Marnier, but that's a whole different thing…

Jim,
you and I are in the same boat on pre-mixing the cocktails. My favorite trail mixes are a Count Loretto (Bourbon, Fernet Branca, Dark Rum, twist of orange) and a mix I usually call “sweet dreams,” which is any combination, any ratio of Irish Cream, Coffee Liquor, Dark Rum and/or Bourbon.

Trail Manhattans are great, too, but I prefer them slightly chilled, which is hard in the summer, depending on where you’re hiking…

Other favorite trail cocktails?

PackIt Gormet makes a powdered mango margarita mix that is equally tasty with tequila or rum.

Deja Vu

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=73694

Here's my plan…

Premix 2 parts Everclear 190, 1 part Tequila and 1 part Cointreau for a 135 proof liquor concentrate.

For a margarita:
1 ounce liquor concentrate
1 packet Truelime powder (=1/2 oz. dried lime juice)
3 oz Cold Mountain Branch Water

Plus maybe a packet of Truelemon drink mix.

I'm just dying reading all these drinks and realizing how truly boring I've been sipping straight bourbon/whiskey. You should throw a GGG type event for trail bartenders… I'd carry the weight as a mixing tip/tax…