Bushwalk Australia

I will be in the wilderness this New Years Eve and was after something that is easy to carry so we can have a little something to bring in the New Year.I am not exactly an ultra light hiker and go to great lengths(and weight) to have a decent coffee whilst hiking.
I trialled a McWilliams dry red tonight in a flexible drink pouch(250ml) with Dinner and whilst the first sip was OK it progressively got worse as I had my second glass.
I am after some options.Possibly thinking refill the pouch with a decent drop or has anybody some other suggestions please.
I am not really a spirit drinker but perhaps an Irish Coffee.I enjoy a boutique beer but the weight of a couple of stubbies is probably a bit much "effort for reward".
So what is your drink whilst hiking?

Decent beers that come in a can shouldn't be too heavy to pack in. My favorite is Brew dog Punk IPA

The only acceptable drink with which to celebrate Hogmanay is a good single malt. l

Keep the MacWilliams VinSac? container and refill it with a nice port or muscat. It will keep much better than a table wine if carrying it for a few days and can be enjoyed over a couple of days. Stones Green Ginger wine was a cheaper tipple in my early days.

Id go for something you know you like in a platy bottle, or similar. I'd go with a port or other fortified since they should be less temp sensitive, and the taste is less contingent on temp.

Gadgetgeek wrote:Id go for something you know you like in a platy bottle, or similar. I'd go with a port or other fortified since they should be less temp sensitive, and the taste is less contingent on temp.

I have a pouch similar to a platypus, think I paid $10 for it in Tassie. Usually a white wine, stays reasonably cool if packed in the middle of my pack. I've seen the McWilliams pouches and thought I would probably tip out the contents & refill with something decent.

Otherwise some JD in a small plastic bottle. Spirits are definitely the best "value for weight" when hiking.

I make my own single malt and have no qualms about spending plenty of money to buy light weight gear yet have been known to carry a kilo or three of whiskey for us on a multi day walk ;D

I think tradition says a bottle of port and that is what I would take if sharing. Maybe a Galway Pipe. But for my own consumption a single malt, an Islay malt. Mmmmmm.


Chris

I often take red wine decanted into a PET bottle and find that it keeps well enough for a couple of days. I've never felt the need to try one of the fancy wine bladders.

Fortified wines obviously keep better, with a bit more bang for the weight. But sometimes the high sugar content is a bit much if you want to keep sipping throughout the evening.

Another that we often take (especially on New Years walks) is Black Russian. Vodka and Kahlua mixed about 50/50 (or to your preference) in a PET. Yes, it's better on the rocks but it's pretty damn good un-chilled too!

These aren't bad and they are in 1L containers. http://www.oneplanetwine.com/range/ I have difficulty with the idea that red would be too warm in Tas unless kept in the sun; incidentally I have frozen the white - freezer needs to be a little colder than average. Used to be in 250mL containers I found really good unfortunately they've stopped. Better than McWilliams ....ERK just noticed the Merlot (new to me) is from Chile, what's Green about that? The excellent Cat Amongst the Pigeons from the Barossa is in a 1.5L cask; not much cheaper than bottles but if there were a few of you, a good buy for carrying. Baldivis and Palindri both tried PET bottles for a while - yellowtail bubbly was in a PET, too, would have been perfect; apparently didnt' sell BUT I never saw anything about it in hiking blogs etc so I suspect they lost a marketing opportunity. Boaters, car camping, hiking... really!

Hasn't this discussion come up before? Personally would choose CradleHuts or Lifes an Aventure who will provide the wine (and beer, if its LAA) & arrange for it to be at the right temperature when you finish for the day!

I got this all sorted on our recent trip
Just get your flyfishing/hiking mate to buy a flash looking platypus wine bladder and fill it up out of his port barrel at home.Then he may as well carry it as I wouldn't want to lose it After coffee and dessert is finished(freeing up port glass/bucket)just subtely hint it is time for a port and "wallah" a lovely drop is placed in your hand I wish I had a photo but that might have been pushing it
I must admit I was impressed with a couple of girls at the hut we were at as they carried in a couple of small(around 250ml)glass bottles of bubbly for New Years Eve.I think they were disappointed the bottles weren't much lighter after they drank the contents.

worse than that, if they had piccolos (the usual small bottle) its only about 187 (still) to 200mL (sparkling).... You are right, not much lighter when empty. Good for car based camping as they are fairly robust and chill quickly

I have found this to be a good "tipple" for any occasion
Home made Liqueur .
One bottle of inexpensive Vodka or Brandy
500gm raw sugar
500gm in season ripe stone fruit or berries (plums and cherries are nice)
Prick Fruit, mix with Spirit and Sugar put it in a suitable size non metallic container and leave for at least two weeks giving it a shake every day(Sugar should be completely dissolved) then decant into an appropriate bottle ,for Overnighters I use a 200ml plastic Bundy Bottle 30gm ,longer trips a 600ml Plastic Staminade Bottle 47gm or a 1lt "Platy"style 24gm.
Drink in moderation as it is fairly potent

Just remember to also pack the "Proper " crystal glasses for drinking the good drop, rubbish you can drink out of titanium or plastic but "The Good Drop" deserves fine crystal
I save the little baby food squeeze tubes for the cheap spirits and use wine casks for the cheap port
Find a "Metho" that has no additive and is simply alcohol and that cheap liqueur will be even cheaper

Moondog55 wrote:Just remember to also pack the "Proper " crystal glasses for drinking the good drop, rubbish you can drink out of titanium or plastic but "The Good Drop" deserves fine crystal
I save the little baby food squeeze tubes for the cheap spirits and use wine casks for the cheap port
Find a "Metho" that has no additive and is simply alcohol and that cheap liqueur will be even cheaper

Guess you were joking about Metho MD check this out.

http://www.labchem.com/tools/msds/msds/VT230.pdf

Yes but no Methanol ROFL
It's now Bitrex in most cases; to make it undrinkable in the extreme, some of us like our martinis with extra bitters

Moondog55 wrote:Yes but no Methanol ROFL
It's now Bitrex in most cases; to make it undrinkable in the extreme, some of us like our martinis with extra bitters

Thought you were parsimonious did not expect you to be a risk taker or even reckless enough to mention poisonous Metho as a drink even in jest,I guess you are too young to have observed the wrecked shells of humans who succumbed to this poison

corvus wrote:... the wrecked shells of humans who succumbed to this poison

I'm old enough to have seen the metho drinkers who succumbed. Desperate alcoholics, deliberately poisoned by a government concerned only to protect its excise tax rake. So sad.

On the subject of what to take while bushwalking, an old SBW favourite is rum mixed with lemon barley (carried as powder). I find that Cointreau works well around the campfire after a meal, even for people who wouldn't dream of drinking Cointreau elsewhere.

My hiking partner found a great beer recently in a can called Little Creatures Dog Days Summer Beer which was sensational on a recent trip cooled in one of the tiny feeder streams running off Jagungal.The smaller more overgrown the creek the colder the water hence the beer was.Unfortunately the beer is only a limited release.
I still think the secret to your pack weight reduction is to get your hiking partner to carry them in full and generously offer to carry the empty aluminium cans out empty

Previously have decanted decent wine into PET bottles, or wine bladders, or Whisky into old cleaned wine bladders or small PET bottles, but for longer trips, in recent years I've decided to go dry.....I find it surprisingly easy when out in the bush. It's work/home that stimulates the drinking for me.

A

The best belly warmer ever made for cold nights fishing or camping. Stone's Green Ginger Wine

corvus wrote:I have found this to be a good "tipple" for any occasion
Home made Liqueur .
One bottle of inexpensive Vodka or Brandy
500gm raw sugar
500gm in season ripe stone fruit or berries (plums and cherries are nice)
Prick Fruit, mix with Spirit and Sugar put it in a suitable size non metallic container and leave for at least two weeks giving it a shake every day(Sugar should be completely dissolved) then decant into an appropriate bottle ,for Overnighters I use a 200ml plastic Bundy Bottle 30gm ,longer trips a 600ml Plastic Staminade Bottle 47gm or a 1lt "Platy"style 24gm.
Drink in moderation as it is fairly potent

Hmm. If you like that sort of stuff Bruny Island cheeses sometimes puts a sloe gin in their on-lines stuff

Glayva. Yum.

Depends on weight. Aldi vodka decanted into a PET bottle. mixes well with vitafresh, hydolite etc. Stones and port can be weight ok if you water them down. over night non challenging walks a couple of cans of Guinness and a bit of Irish whisky

davidf wrote:... a bit of Irish whisky

whiskey

Without an 'e' it's Scotch, but if it's Irish you ad the 'e'.
I may not drink the stuff, but I can sure spell it properly.

While this is true enough how are we going to spell the marvellous smoky grain based distilled beverage coming out of Tasamania now? Whiski? Whyski? Whusky? WhySkiatallski?
personally I favour Wusky

It's based on the Scottish ingredients and processes, so Whisky is acceptable. Whysky? Whystasky?

Tassie stuff should be spelled 'Whi$ky'...I mix it up, sometimes a single malt, sometimes spiced rum, sometimes port, or wine...maybe some G'nT cans...beer...I may have a problem...

Oh dear. And how much have you had tonight?

This is what I'm thinking of taking next trip:
http://melbournemartini.com.au

I might have to decant it out of the glass first.


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