Trail Margarita
Powdered lime drink mix, tequila, and cold water. No ice, no shaker, no apology.
- calories
- 290
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 64
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 2 min
- water
- 300 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Powdered lime drink mix | 1/2 cup | the sweetened kind; unsweetened plus 3 tbsp sugar also works |
|---|---|---|
| Tequila | 3 oz | 100% agave, carried in a small screw-top flask |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | plus a pinch for the rim if you care |
| Cold water | 300 ml | the colder the source, the better this goes |
Method
- Put the drink mix and salt in a wide-mouth bottle or a quart freezer bag.
- Add 300 ml of cold water. Cap it and shake until nothing is gritty on the bottom.
- Pour in the tequila and shake again, briefly.
- Drink it as is. If you have a cold creek or a snowfield, sink the bottle in it for ten minutes first.
Every part of a margarita that needs refrigeration has been removed. What remains is acid, sugar, salt, and alcohol, which is most of what the drink was doing anyway. The powdered mix supplies the lime and the sweetness in a form that weighs almost nothing and cannot leak.
Salt is not garnish here. Sweet drinks taste flat and cloying when you are dehydrated, and a quarter teaspoon stirred into the body of the drink fixes that and replaces some of what you sweated out. Cold water matters more than you would think, since there is no ice to do the work; a creek-chilled bottle is the difference between this and warm syrup. Carry the liquor separately and account for the weight honestly before you commit to it.
Packing
Measure the mix and salt into one bag per drink at home. The tequila rides in a leakproof plastic flask, not glass, and not in the same pocket as your food.
Variations
- Swap lime mix for orange or grapefruit and you have something closer to a paloma.
- Skip the tequila entirely and it is a salted electrolyte drink, which is what your legs actually wanted.
- A pinch of chili powder on the rim salt is worth the quarter gram.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/back-country-cocktail-recipes.202873