The Essential Guide to Winter Camping Booze

I’ve got a lot to be thankful for this year, and friends are right at the top of my list. Since moving out to Colorado at the beginning of the year, I haven’t been able to spend very much time with my family – so my friends out here have become my tribe. To celebrate the holiday weekend, I’m packing up my Stanley thermos, and heading out to Shelf Road to climb with a crew of fellas from back in my Tallahassee Rock Gym days.

But winter camping isn’t always my thing.

The cold gets to me sometimes. But I know the season for camping trips is probably cooling down a bit, so I couldn’t pass up the invite to climb in perfect 60º weather only a few hours away. Aside from my climbing gear and camping equipment, I have one priority for this trip: drinks. These fellas know how to have a good time, so I put together three essential drinks everyone should bring along during winter adventures.

Hot Chocolate with Irish Cream

This is possibly my all-time favorite winter drink. I’ve always adored hot chocolate, so the next progression was clearly to introduce liquor to the mix. I added three shots of Saint Brendan’s Irish cream liqueur (aka Bailey’s for poor people) to the Stanley one-handed thermos filled with water and three scoops of hot chocolate mix – bonus points if you add a shot of whiskey and some coffee! And of course, top it all off with an offensively large mound of heavy whipped cream for good measure.

Okay, so the whipped cream might not be practical for the outdoors – but the one-handed thermos definitely is. This thing keeps drinks hot for up to six hours, tags along easy everywhere from adventures to my morning commute, and doesn’t spill even a single drop.

 A Flask Full of Whiskey

When you’re hiking around with a pack full of ropes and gear, there isn’t an abundance of space for fancy winter libations – which is where the 8 oz. Stanley Adventure flask (which is on sale right now!) comes into play. I bought a small 12 oz. bottle of my favorite whiskey, Bulleit Rye, and loaded it into my flask to keep on hand for moments when the crew needs a pick-me-up, or when I’m in need of a victory swig after a climb. A simple flask packs easy, doesn’t add a lot of weight to your load, and can add a dash of adult-enjoyment to any beverage. Perfect stocking stuffer idea, anyone? I know. 

 A Six-Pack of Seasonal Beer

The easiest drink for camping, ever, period, is beer. It’s plentiful, cheap, and always refreshing after a day of exploring. Winter is a great season for bringing beer because you know it’ll stay cold – there’s nothing worse than a hot, skunky beer when you’re camping in the summertime. For our Shelf Road adventures, my buddy Jeff decided to pick up a six-pack of New Belgium’s seasonal winter ale. He describes it as “a white IPA, so it’s not as hoppy – and it has a really clean taste with a smooth finish. Honestly it’s the perfect winter beer.”

I let Jeff borrow my Stanley vacuum-sealed pint glass, which features a built-in bottle opener on the lid! This might be my favorite Stanley product right now, since the big mouth opening and spacious 16 oz. capacity are ideal for optimized beverage size.

Bottoms up, y’all!

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