Midnight at the Campsite: Fireside Fiction & Elevated Nightcaps with High Camp Flasks
Must be 21+ | Please sip responsibly | Paid Partnership
There’s something about fall that makes a campfire, a good cocktail, and a haunting or atmospheric book feel like the perfect combination. This season, we’ve partnered with High Camp Flasks and traded book club notes for campfire stories—the kind involving mysterious disappearances, isolated cabins, buried secrets, and at least one noise in the woods that was definitely just a squirrel…
And, naturally, we needed the right gear for the occasion.
High Camp is our go-to adventure companion for taking cocktails from the bar to the backyard, campsite, or wherever your next adventure takes you. We especially love the Highball Shaker, which lets you mix 6–8 cocktails at once while keeping everything perfectly chilled, and the Parkside Tumblers, which give you that cocktail-in-the-wilderness experience without worrying about broken glass. Bonus: they come with a travel case, so they’re actually made for taking the party with you.
The Campfire Pairing Lineup
Using our High Camp Highball Shakers and Parkside tumblers, we gathered around our (metaphorical) fire (recording does have to happen safely inside with electricity), poured ourselves something delicious, and matched each book with a cocktail that felt like it belonged in its world in this bonus episode of Narratives & Nightcaps.
From bright and fruity to smoky, spicy, and downright mysterious, here's what was in our glasses while we discussed the books that kept us up after dark.
God of the Woods by Liz Moore - Twin Peaks Punch
A wealthy family, summer camp, a missing boy, and secrets buried in the woods? This one practically demanded a campfire cocktail.
The bright, fruity Twin Peaks Punch feels like something you'd serve at the Van Laars' summer lawn party—beautiful and refreshing, with a little complexity underneath. Basically, the perfect drink for a book where everything is not what it seems.
Twin Peaks Punch: 2 oz amber rum • 1¼ oz simple syrup • 2½ oz orange juice • ½ oz lime juice • 2–3 dashes bitters • pinch of nutmeg
Make it: Shake rum, syrup, juices, and ice. Strain over fresh ice, add bitters, and finish with nutmeg. For a crowd, make it a pitcher!
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - Lush
This three-ingredient cocktail is practically named for Kya's world: lush marshes, wildlife, and history, with a little North Carolina blackberry love thrown in.
Lush: 1 oz vodka • ½ oz blackberry liqueur • 3 oz champagne or sparkling wine
Make it: Pour vodka and blackberry liqueur over ice, top with sparkling wine, and gently stir. Simple, pretty, and perfect for an Outer Banks-style beach bonfire.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - Campfire Whiskey Sour
One of Brie’s favorite reads, and this pairing was a no-brainer. The whiskey brings the weight, lemon brings the emotional bite, and High Camp Campfire Bitters add the smoky aroma of an isolated Alaskan wilderness.
Campfire Whiskey Sour: 2 oz whiskey • ¾ oz lemon juice • ½–¾ oz simple syrup • egg white, optional • High Camp Campfire Bitters
Make it: If using egg white, dry shake first. Add ice and shake again, then strain over fresh ice and finish with Campfire Bitters.
A Gift Before Dying by Malcolm Kempt - Hot Pepper Salt Air Margarita
A margarita that looks like snow and ice? Absolutely. This chilling Arctic mystery gets a little supernatural heat from High Camp Hot Pepper Bitters.
Margarita: Blanco tequila • fresh lime juice • Cointreau/triple sec • ice
Salt Air: Water • lime juice • sugar • salt • High Camp Hot Pepper Bitters
Make it: Shake tequila, lime, and Cointreau with ice and strain into a glass. Blend the salt-air ingredients until foamy, spoon over the top, and finish with Hot Pepper Bitters.
And make sure to check out our interview with Malcolm from earlier this year!
Unwanted by Mia Sheridan - Mountain Man
Bourbon, peach, maple, and ginger make this drink basically Lucas in cocktail form—sweet and warm with a sharper edge underneath.
Mountain Man: 2 oz bourbon • ⅓ oz peach liqueur • ⅔ oz lemon juice • ⅓ oz maple syrup • ⅙ oz ginger syrup • egg white, optional
Make it: Shake everything with ice and strain over fresh ice. If using egg white, dry shake first for a frothy finish.
Jordan loved this one, but fair warning for strict seasonal readers: despite the fall vibes, this is definitely more of a winter read. Snow, isolation, and a holiday scene make it perfect for curling up under a blanket.
The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes - Cask-Aged Negroni
Dark, mysterious, and just a little bitter—the Cask-Aged Negroni felt made for this story. The depth of the cocktail matches a mystery filled with unreliable narration, buried memories, and questions about what really happened.
Cask-Aged Negroni: 1 oz bourbon-barrel gin • 1 oz Campari • 1 oz sweet vermouth • orange peel
Make it: Stir with ice until chilled, strain over fresh ice, and garnish with orange peel.
It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica - Blackberry Bourbon Smash
Twisty, dark, and emotionally devastating, It's Not Her is the definition of a campfire story gone very, very wrong. A murdered couple, a missing teenage girl, a secluded lake resort, and family secrets that make everyone look guilty.
The Blackberry Bourbon Smash brings the same layered intensity. The jammy blackberries mirror the tangled family secrets, while the bourbon builds to a slow heat—just like the investigation. And that final chapter? Bring tissues. Emily was absolutely sobbing.
Blackberry Bourbon Smash: Bourbon • fresh blackberries • lemon juice • simple syrup • mint, optional
Make it: Muddle blackberries with lemon and simple syrup. Add bourbon and ice, shake, then pour over fresh ice and garnish with berries and mint.
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager - Campfire Old Fashioned
If you loved God of the Woods, put this one next on your list: all-girls summer camp, three missing girls, secrets buried in the woods, an unreliable narrator, and a twist that kept Emily guessing.
The bourbon's caramel, vanilla, and oak notes feel like weathered cabins and crackling fires, while the smoky bitters bring all those buried memories and secrets straight to the glass.
Basically, the perfect cocktail for a campfire story that gets darker after sunset.
Campfire Old Fashioned: 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon • ¼ oz simple syrup • 2–3 dashes High Camp Campfire Bitters • orange peel
Make it: Stir bourbon, syrup, and bitters with ice until chilled. Garnish with orange peel.
So grab your favorite book, pour yourself something good, and settle in.
And if you hear something moving in the woods? It's probably a squirrel. Probably.
Our biggest thanks to High Camp Flasks for sponsoring this literary adventure! Visit highcampflasks.com to elevate your cocktails and the moments that matter.
Don’t miss the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen/watch your podcasts.