Have you ever wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo - or any other day - with a margarita while you were out hiking? Sure, you can wrap a Nalgene bottle full of frozen margaritas in a puffer or self-inflating pad and keep them slushy for hours, but what do you do when Taco Tuesday is on the third night of your backpacking trip?
As Good Wolf Gear's resident Texan, I am here to help! I have spent years doing diligent research on this, and I am happy to share my recommendations.
My favorite recipe uses electrolyte tablets as the base. The slight effervescence is nice, and the mineral content almost makes up for not having a salted rim. Add a little sugar for a touch of sweetness, but the key is the TrueLime and TrueOrange citrus packets. I normally use a mid-range reposada tequila so I can sip a little bit of it, too.
Add all of the following ingredients to a 16oz Nalgene bottle, close the lid, wait for the hydration tablet to dissolve, and give it a good swirl for mixing. Makes 2 margaritas.
- 1 hydration tablet Tangerine Lime from Nuun is my favorite for extra orange flavor
- 2 sugar packets ~8 grams total
- 1 True Lime packet this stuff really does taste like fresh lime
- 1 True Orange packet
- 12 oz water use the coldest that you have
- 2 oz tequila
I use a medicine bottle with a safety cap as my flask because it is lightweight, leak proof, and allows easy measuring. Sometimes I'll put the tablets in a small zip bag if I don't need the whole tube, and sometimes I make my own sugar packets with zip bags. Here are some pictures from my extensive field research.
You can always keep it simple and use only a hydration tablet or your favorite powdered sports drink. And you'll be certain to win friends if you share it! But I really can't recommend any of the artificially-sweetened packets.
One important caution: after a hard day of hiking, you may find that the alcohol hits a little harder than expected, so please be careful and enjoy responsibly.
Useful Links:
Nuun Hydration: https://nuunlife.com/
True Citrus: https://www.truelemon.com/