Good drinks are not just for the sofa. Some of the best ones happen at a picnic, on a hilltop, at a campsite or on a weekend away with friends. The catch is that carrying drinks well is harder than it looks. Bottles are heavy and break, wine goes warm, and a metal flask can leave your whisky tasting of tin. A little planning fixes all of it. Here is how to get proper drinks to wherever you are going.
Carry spirits without the bulk
You rarely need a full bottle when you are out. For a walk or a picnic, a flask carrying the exact amount you want to drink is far easier than lugging a bottle around. The problem with old metal flasks is the taste they leave behind after a few hours, which is why our Flight Flask uses a glass interior instead. It holds up to 100ml, suits whisky, rum and gin, and has a window so you can see what is left. For a tasting on the move, our Flight Flask Traveller Set carries four different spirits in labelled flasks, which is ideal for a distillery day or a share among friends. Our guide to Hip Flask Etiquette covers the finer points of using one well.
Keep wine cold on the move
Warm white wine is one of the small tragedies of outdoor drinking. An ice bucket is useless once you leave the house, so the answer is a freezable cooler sleeve. Keep it in the freezer, chill your bottle in the fridge first, then slide the sleeve over the bottle as you head out. Our Wine Cooler Sleeve holds the chill without ice or mess and fits most standard wine and Champagne bottles, so your white arrives crisp rather than lukewarm. See our full breakdown in Why a Wine Cooler Sleeve Beats an Ice Bucket.
Take a proper glass with you
Drinking a good spirit from a plastic cup is a waste of the spirit. A real glass changes how a drink noses and tastes, and there is no reason to leave it at home. Our Mini Ember Nosing Glass is small and sturdy enough to travel, and it turns a campsite dram or a picnic pour into something closer to how you would drink it at home. Pack it in a case so it survives the trip, in the same spirit as our Mini Glask Traveller review.
Batch a cocktail before you go
If you want cocktails outdoors, make them at home and carry them ready to pour. Leave out the ice and any fizz, since those are better added on arrival, and a spirit-forward drink like a negroni or an old fashioned travels perfectly in a flask. When you get there, pour over ice, top up if needed, and you have a proper drink with none of the kit.
Protect the bottles you do bring
Sometimes you do need the full bottles, for a dinner at a friend's place or a longer weekend. This is where a proper carrier earns its keep, keeping bottles upright, separated and protected rather than clanking around loose in a bag. Our Bags and Carriers hold several bottles or cans, with padded dividers and comfortable straps, so everything arrives in one piece and looks the part when you hand it over.
A few habits that make it easy
Chill everything before you leave, because nothing you carry will get colder on the way. Decant only what you need rather than packing full bottles you will not finish. Keep the fragile things padded. And clean and dry your flask and glass when you get home so they are ready for next time.
Outdoor drinking is one of life's simple pleasures, and it is far better when the drinks travel well. Sort out the carrying and the chilling and you can take a proper glass, a good measure and a cold bottle almost anywhere.
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