5 Winter Warmer Drinks Perfect For Sipping Around a Campfire

Vaness is serving up our five unique and delightful winter drinks that’ll boost your camping game!

My favourite thing about winter is sitting around a campfire on those chilly nights and sipping a delicious hot drink.

Whether I’ve completed a long day of hiking, climbed too many walls, covered a long distance on the road, or done any adventure that leads me to putting my feet up and winding down, these drinks work wonders.

To warm up in winter, many people gravitate towards grabbing the booze straight off the shelf. But these campfire drink recipes warm you up from the inside out without the alcohol, which means they’re good for the young ones, too! So, skip the bottle shop, save some dollars, and get excited for these reinvigorated spins on your traditional winter bevvies.

5 Winter Beverages for Around the Campfire

1. Apple & Grapefruit Infused With Aromatics

This is one for kids big and small! Remember those Golden Circle fruit juices from when you were young? Picture that, but with aromatics and bright coloured exotic fruits; it’s the next level fruit juice! I love citrus fruits because they’re fresh and zesty, and grapefruit is a great one to use for this drink, with a sour-sweet bitterness to it.

Serve: 2

Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of apple juice
• 2 grapefruits (1 juiced, 1 quartered)
• ¼ apple julienned (matchsticks)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cloves

Method:

1. In a pot, combine apple juice, juice from one grapefruit, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Simmer until nice and warm, but not too hot to drink!
2. Serve into your favourite mugs
3. Garnish with sliced apple and grapefruit

2. Ginger & Lemon Tea With Charred Sugar Cane

Tea is often underrated, and I’m here to change your mind about it.

This recipe is easy, although a little more extravagant than your regular tea in a bag. You might not be familiar with sugar cane, but it was a big thing in my childhood, and it’s used a lot around the world in food and drinks.

For this recipe, I char the sugar cane over fire at the end for a smoky/burnt sweet sensation to complement the delicate tea. All you need is a pot, a campfire, and a couple of ingredients to create this healthy herbal tea.

Serve: 2

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 knob of ginger (2-3cm thinly sliced)
• 1 lemon
• 2 small sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 2 cups of water
• 2 small sticks of sugar cane (optional but recommended!)

Method:

1. To prepare the sugar cane, cut it into 10cm pieces and remove the skin. Then cut into batons and set aside (each 10cm log should give you 4 pieces)
2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil
3. Divide the juice of half a lemon into two mugs
4. Slice up the other lemon half and add to both mugs
5. Add hot water, ginger, and thyme to mugs and let them infuse for 3 minutes
6. If you have a fire going, char the sugar cane for 5 seconds on each side and serve on the side of the drink. (This can also be done with a kitchen blow torch)

Hot tip! Chew the sugar cane for the juice, but don’t swallow or eat. It has an awesome flavour!

3. American Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Don’t knock this one before you try it! Who’d think to put pumpkin and coffee in the same drink?

Brandi, like many Americans, loves her pumpkin spice lattes every time the weather turns cold. With a taste that literally matches the feel of cool autumn days, it’s a crowd favourite, and soon you’ll be entertaining your mates with this one.

Coffee comes down to personal preference – if you’re up for a long night, go the caffeinated route. We tend to go with the decaffeinated option as we’re early birds and love waking up to the sounds of nature.

Serve: 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of pumpkin puree
• 2 shots of espresso
• ½ vanilla pod (or ½ tsp vanilla extract)
• 2 cups of milk
• ¼ cup of whipped cream
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tbsp of sugar

Method:

1. Pour the pumpkin puree, vanilla pod, milk, sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon into a pot and heat until it starts simmering. Be careful not to burn the milk
2. Prepare your shot of espresso using whichever bush barista method you use
3. Grab your mug, and combine the milk mixture and coffee
4. Top with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon

Hot tip! You can purchase American pumpkin puree online, or at some supermarkets that stock international goods.

4. Miso Caramel Banoffee Brew

Yum right? This recipe was inspired by one of the previous kitchens I worked in where we experimented with all sorts of sweet and savoury flavours. Often, desserts are underrated and not the star of the show. Today, we’re seeing more kitchens push the limits to create unique flavours and sensations for us lucky customers.

I use white miso paste to replace sea salt as it gives the drink a richer and creamier hint. It’s a bit like making a custard but without the egg. On a side note, this mocktail would be perfect if you have extra miso paste and cereal leftover in your camp kitchen pantry.

Serve: 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 banana thinly sliced
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 tsp of white miso paste
• 3 tbsp of white chocolate powder
• ¼ cup of caramel sauce
• ½ cup of whipped cream
• Pinch of sugar
• A handful of crunchy nut cereal crushed (can substitute with salted caramel popcorn)
• A handful of dark chocolate shaved

Method:

1. Combine the miso paste and caramel sauce, mix well so there are no lumps
2. In a pot, warm up the milk, white chocolate powder, and miso caramel sauce, whisking well. Once combined, take off the heat. Do not boil!
3. Sprinkle sugar over the bananas, then brulee (torch) them until caramelised
4. Pour the drink into a mug and top with cream, banana, chocolate, and cereal. Yum yum!

5. Mulled Wine

Looking for something a little more indulgent? This well-known winter drink takes me back to our time in Europe, during the Christmas markets in Nuremberg, Germany. The little town was magical, thriving with food stalls serving hot food and drinks, as well as little gift shops and much more! I miss this place so much that I wanted to recreate the memories back at home.

This recipe is completely non-alcoholic, though if you can’t resist, go ahead and use alcoholic wine.

Serve: 2

Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of non-alcoholic red wine
• 1 orange halved
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small sprig of rosemary
• 2 tbsp of sugar (or to taste)

Method:

1. Juice half of the orange and slice the cinnamon, star anise, bay leaf, and rosemary
2. Add all ingredients into a pot and heat until simmered, then set aside for three minutes to infuse

Hot tip! Serve it with a cheese platter.

Reduce Your Waste

1. Recycle bottles/cans/plastic – There are multiple resources in Australia, like Containers for a Change and RedCycle. We can utilise these resources to lessen our carbon footprint and become more sustainable
2. Reusable straw – There are many outlets to purchase reusable straws, insulated mugs, tumblers, and accessories for your hot beverages

Read more: Leave no trace!

What travel mug should I buy?

My list of things to consider when choosing a travel mug includes;

1. Double wall insulation – this keeps drinks hot for roughly 4-6 hours. Camelbak and Yeti are both over-engineered and renowned for quality and durability
2. Magnetic lid – keeps you from losing your lid
3. Ease of use and transportation – some have screw tops, which may make it harder to drink on the go. However, the leak-proof option does come in handy when hiking, biking, and travelling
4. Sea to Summit collapsible mugs are perfect for throwing in backpacks and tight spaces. Tumblers are a go-to as well if you need to save some space

Read more: Our Favourite Camping Cups and Coffee Mugs