Festival drinks

Allow eight 12.5 cl glasses per litre, or six more generous 16 cl glasses. A 700 ml bottle is therefore enough for about six glasses, and a 1.5 litre pitcher for about twelve. For a long afternoon with six people, this works out to one pitcher plus a second alcohol-free pitcher, and at least as much water alongside them: in the sun, that will be finished faster than what you mixed. Keep in mind that ice will still be added to the glass along the way, so mix the bottle a little stronger than you would serve it and do not fill the pitcher to the brim.

Freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice loses its fresh aroma within a few hours and then tastes bland to bitter; in warm conditions, this happens faster. If your premix contains fresh citrus juice, make it the evening before or that same morning and drink it that day. If you want to prepare further in advance, leave out the citrus and squeeze it over the glass on the spot, or bring whole wedges in a container. A citrus-free premix, for example based on syrup and herbal liqueur, lasts longer when kept cold and sealed.

In the awning, pour from one pitcher instead of mixing each glass individually. Use one part spirits to just over three parts juice, so it stays light and lasts a long time. Prepare the base without ice and sparkling water, fill the pitcher three-quarters full, and leave the rest for what you add when serving. Place a second alcohol-free pitcher with the same base next to it, along with plenty of water: it will be finished faster in the sun than you might think.

At a campsite, there is rarely a refrigerator, so the same tricks as for a picnic work well. Put the pitcher in a bucket with ice and water instead of ice alone, because water conducts heat better and therefore cools it faster. Wrap a wet tea towel around the bottle or pitcher and place it in the wind: the evaporating water noticeably draws heat away. Keep everything in the shade of the awning instead of next to it in the sun, and use large 4 cm ice blocks, which last much longer in a cool bag than loose cubes.

Almost every venue bans glass in its house rules, and the reason is simple: a shard in the grass or sand cannot be found again, and thousands of people walk over it, often in flip-flops. That is why venues use hard cups or personal cups, for which you usually pay a deposit. Check the venue's own house rules, because what may and may not be brought inside varies by festival and by year. At the campsite and in the awning, use unbreakable glasses made of plastic; they are reusable, so you won't be left with a bag of disposable cups.

Afterwards, the kitchen becomes the bar. The stackable long drink glasses are ready, as is whatever premix is left: pour it over fresh ice and top up with sparkling water, and it will taste as good as new. Put water on the table and plenty of alcohol-free options too: the Virgin Mojito, the alcohol-free gin and tonic or something from the mocktails. Crodino is a bitter non-alcoholic aperitif. NIX18: no 18, no alcohol.