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It’s only October, but the holidays will be here sooner than we think. Christmas tree displays will replace Halloween décor before we’ve even had our Thanksgiving turkey and many of us plan to travel as various holidays approach. If you’ll be heading to grandmother’s house via plane, you’re already dreading the lines at the ticket counter and the Scrooges you’ll encounter at the airport. We can’t help with the lines in baggage check or keep that kid from kicking your seat, but with these clever hacks to transform boring airline beverages, we might just survive the flight. These drinks require a little pre-planning, but it’ll give you something to do when your flight is delayed—again.

If the Bloody Mary mix on-board is too bland for your tastes, a few extra ingredients will give this classic cocktail a kick and, just like Dierks Bentley, you’ll get that 737 rockin’ like a G6.

Bloody Mary

Find at Airport

  • 1 salt packet
  • 1 pepper packet
  • Worcestershire or Soy sauce packets
  • Hot sauce packets

Ask Flight Attendant For

  • 1 bottle vodka or tequila
  • 1 can of tomato juice
  • 1 lemon wedge
  • 1 cup

 Pour liquor and tomato juice into a cup. Squeeze a little lemon juice. Add a big pinch of salt, a small pinch of pepper, five or six dashes Worcestershire or soy sauce, and four or five dashes hot sauce. Stir and tweak to taste.

If you’re feeling fancy, and want a great ice-breaker with your seat-mates, thinking ahead can help you whip up a cocktail that will make you legendary—at least for the duration of the flight!

The Sazerac

Pack

  • TSA-appropriate spray bottle of Absinthe
  • Creole Bitters

Ask Flight Attendant For

  • 1 cup with ice
  • 1 empty cup
  • 1 coffee stirrer
  • 1 packet of sugar
  • lemon wedge
  • Rye whiskey or cognac

Spray three sprays of absinthe over ice and the inside of the glass. Add rye whiskey or cognac. Add sugar packet and stir until the sugar fully dissolves and ice melts a little. Once diluted, pour mixture into empty cup. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, separate lemon flesh from the rind and then squeeze the rind into the cup and drop into the cocktail.

If the concoctions above seem like too much effort to booze at cruising altitude, try these simple hacks to boost your beers:

Shandy

  • 1 wheat or Pilsner beer
  • 3-4 lemon wedges, to taste
  • 1 sugar packet, to taste

 Fill cup to about ½ inch below rim. Add approximately one quarter of sugar packet and a full squeeze of one lemon wedge. Stir until sugar is dissolved, making sure to do so slowly to avoid foam. Drink and repeat.

Michelada

  • Bloody Mary Mix
  • Canned Beer of choice
  • Hot sauce packets/mini bottle

Pour Bloody Mary mix into an ice-filled cup, top with the canned beer of your choice, add a squeeze of lemon or lime, and and stir. If you have it, this is the perfect time to break out the hot sauce you pilfered from the airport.

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