10 Delicious Cocktails You Can Make On-the-Go

You deserve only the best quality of relaxation, so of course the cocktail in your hand should reflect that. Ideally, we would be able to make our cocktails with patience and love, paying close attention to every detail. We’re all unique individuals, after all, and all our taste buds demand something different.

Unfortunately, the way society is set up, it can be difficult finding enough time to get a full night’s sleep, much less construct an alcoholic masterpiece. This, however, does not mean we should settle for a terrible tasting drink.

These are cocktails you can make on-the-go, no matter your tastes, no matter your situation.

Scenario: Girlfriend’s Dad

You’ve stalked her on social media, brought her flowers, and finally got her to accept you as her boyfriend. She brings you all the happiness you could ask for, with one catch: She’s a daddy’s girl, and if he doesn’t like you, she doesn’t either.

He’s a stern man who only loves his daughter, dusty libraries, and polished hardwood floors. Sitting in the passenger seat on the way to her family’s yearly picnic, listening to her describe him, you realize that six-pack of mass-market beer isn’t going to cut it.

Whiskey Sour

Whiskey Sour is a classic cocktail typically reserved for quiet bars with dim lights and brooding men with revolvers hidden under their blood-stained suit-jackets.

Don’t let that intimidate you. It’s an easy drink to make. It might be one of those cocktails you've been making wrong though, so be sure to actually do it right.

Simply find five minutes to slip away from the picnic and be alone with:

• Whiskey (2 ounces)
• Lemon juice (¾ ounces)
• Simple Syrup (¾ ounces)

Stir these together in a glass (or a Red Solo cup) filled with ice and top them with bright red cherries (if you can sneak a couple from the fruit bowl). Then, puff out your chest, hold the drinks at waist-height, and meet the man who held her first.

Maybe her great aunt is hovering around the picnic table, ensuring no one can enjoy good food until she can make a speech, which will probably suck anyway. Maybe her second cousin’s spoiled kids are playing with water guns between you and the cooler, and you don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

Either way, any cocktails you can make on-the-go won’t simply materialize. Having no access to ingredients poses a serious problem.

Thankfully, the Old Fashioned Carry-on Cocktail Kit from Uncommon Goods solves that problem. The classic recipe calls for:

• Whiskey (2 ounces)
• Sugar (1 teaspoon)
• Bitters

The kit contains the sugar and bitters needed to make two Old Fashioned drinks. Keep this kit and a bottle of whiskey on hand and you’ll be able to make an Old Fashioned anywhere.

Scenario: Bringing Drinks

So it’s girls’ night.

You’ve been looking forward to this all week—needing it after five days of hard work and little pay. With your busy schedule, however, you haven’t been paying much attention to the group chat, thus missing the list detailing everyone’s responsibilities. Someone is staying sober in case of emergency, someone else is ordering the pizza, and you… you are in charge of alcohol.

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to pregame for a night downtown or if you’re going to stay in at an upscale penthouse. Your ride is arriving in fifteen minutes, and you can’t let your girls down.

Light and tasty, yet perfectly capable of giving you a nice buzz, margaritas are an easy, quick drink, made with:

• Tequila (3 ounces)
• Lime juice (2 ounces)
• Simple Syrup (1 ounce)
• Orange liqueur (1 teaspoon)

All you have to do is shake these up in a cocktail shaker, but there is, admittedly, a lot to measure out. If you’d rather not, the Margarita Carry-On Cocktail Kit comes with margarita mix and rimming salt, so you don’t have to waste your precious time. It's a fun party drink that everyone will love, so you know you won't be going wrong with bringing margs.

Bellini

Like the margarita, the Bellini is a light, fruity drink, but instead of four ingredients, it requires two, making it one of the easiest cocktails you can make on-the-go. Simply find these two ingredients:

• Prosecco Sparkling Wine (3 ounces)
• White Peach Puree (2 ounces)

Mix them together and you have a pretty, pale pink drink ready for a party. Plus it's one of the perfect cocktails to drink before noon if you guys are having brunch instead.

Scenario: Sunset at the Beach

Days at the beach are beautiful, sure, but nothing quite beats the sunset. In the beach house you and your friends have rented out for the weekend, you all start talking about heading out to the sandy shores to spend the evening with nature. Unfortunately, like all large groups of carefree people, it takes you a while to get moving. By the time you’ve rounded everyone up and headed out, the sun has started dipping.

Making a cocktail while walking, especially on sand, is an impressive feat. Doing so without spilling your precious alcohol is not quite feasible for us mortals.

Normally, a gin and tonic requires several ingredients:

• Gin (2 ounces)
• Tonic water (4 ounces)
• Lime juice (1 tablespoon)
• Lime wedge (garnish)

These can be a lot to carry considering you only have two hands. With the Gin and Tonic Carry-On Cocktail Kit, everything becomes much easier to hold, as you’re only left to manage the gin and the drink.

The Moscow Mule is a popular drink known for its unique presentation in a polished copper mug with a lime wedge. While the mug may not be the best option while walking, the tart taste is great for a warm evening outdoors.

It is made with:

• Vodka (2 ounces)
• Ginger beer (6 ounces)
• Lime juice (½ ounce)

The whole purpose of cocktails you can make on-the-go are to grace you with a nice drink without interrupting your movement. If you don’t feel like pausing your trek to grab the ingredients, or you don’t have a bottle of ginger beer on hand, the Moscow Mule Carry-On Cocktail Kit comes ready with ginger syrup. All that’s left to do is mix it with vodka and you’ll be enjoying a Moscow Mule in time to sit on the sand and watch the sky change colors.

Scenario: Countdown to Midnight

New Year’s Eve is as good a time as any to celebrate with friends and family and leave all your old problems behind, so of course you throw a party.

It’s a shame your friends are so eager to drink, though, because when the time approaches for everyone to raise their glasses and toast the new year, there’s nothing to raise. All the cocktails you so responsibly pre-made have been drunk, and no one wants to raise water for the new year.

Manhattan

A sleek, classy drink, the Manhattan has the deep, red coloration and the unique, rich taste that is perfect for a late-night party. For such a delicious drink, it’s very simple, requiring only three ingredients.

• Whiskey (2 ounces)
• Sweet Vermouth (1 ounce)
• Bitters

Give these a quick stir and pour them into individual cocktail glasses, and everyone will have a drink in their hand by midnight.

Maybe you had a particularly large party (or maybe you’re annoyed and don’t want to put in any more effort to make them drinks). If you need drinks that are especially quick and easy, reach for the Champagne Carry-On Cocktail Kit. It contains elderflower syrup which can be added to most any type of champagne or sparkling wine, though a good recipe to start with for a group is:

• Champagne (4 ounces)
• Elderflower
• Fruit of your choice (garnish)

Scenario: Christmas Caroling

Some cocktails you can make on-the-go work for any time of the year. A couple, though, are particularly inclined to a specific time of season—say, the holidays.

As nice as it can be to celebrate the holiday season with loved ones, it’s not always so nice when they “insist you come out and enjoy yourself,” and drag you along to sing to strangers.

Irish Hot Chocolate

On any caroling trip in the snow, your fingers and toes are bound to get cold at some point. Convince your group to stop at the local cafe for some hot chocolate—this probably won’t be a hard task—and you’ll have the basis for a heart-warming cocktail, because this is all it needs:

• Hot Chocolate
• Bailey’s Irish Cream

Just splash some of the Bailey’s into the hot chocolate and swirl it around a bit, or even drizzle it on top of the whipped cream.

After a long while of singing, you may find your voice starting to go. The Hot Toddy is a relaxing, warm drink which will soothe your throat and get you right back to singing your heart out. It’s typically made with:

• Bourbon (1 ounce)
• Honey (½ ounce)
• Lemon juice (2 teaspoons)
• Boiling water (¼ cup)

You may find it difficult to carry all these ingredients while carrying music sheets as well. Simply bring along a thermos of hot water and bourbon and the Hot Toddy Carry-on Cocktail Kit, and you’ll be able to whip together a drink on the walk between houses. Along with ginger syrup and crystallized lemon, the kit comes with cinnamon for an extra twist to your drink.

There’s nothing quite like sitting at a bar or lounging at the beach with a drink in hand, but there’s no stopping our active, eventful lives, either. Cocktails you can make on-the-go bring some light-hearted fun to our busy days.