5 In-Flight Cocktails You Can Make With A Bit Of Bourbon

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of air travel lovers to haters, we can all agree that there are few grown-up pleasures as satisfying as enjoying an adult beverage with sky-high views. Sipping on cocktails 30,000+ feet above sea level is quite possibly one of the most productive ways to enjoy a drink. As such, we're pitching a few easy-to-make in-flight cocktails that will elevate your elevating experience even more.

You may have heard that air travel can impact your palate due to the air pressure making your tastebuds less sensitive to different flavors. (This is why a lot of us love tomato juice in the skies when we don't have much taste for it on the ground.) Concocting a DIY bourbon cocktail is a great way to infuse a little more life into your muted tastebuds. But before we dive into our picks for your cock(pit)tails, there are a few carry-on items that we recommend you bring to help improve your imbibing experience.

If you have to choose one extra ingredient to bring, we say go for honey packets to increase the variety of drinks you can make. Note: Some airlines might have honey packets available for their tea, but if you want to err on the safe side, then we say bring your own honey and make sure it doesn't exceed TSA's 3.4-ounce liquid limitation. Or if you forget, you can probably snatch a couple of honey packets from an airport coffee kiosk. Additionally, bringing mini bottles of bitters or a few slices of fresh citrus will help make your cocktails sing.

Of all the drinks we list in this piece, the old fashioned is the one that relies on the most planning before your flight — i.e. you'll want to bring your own bitters to pull off the layered sweet, spicy, and smooth flavor balance. Luckily, bitters come in mini or single-serving packs that fall well within the carry-on rules and regulations. We recommend you grab something like this two-pack of Hella Cocktail Bitters (1.7 ounces each), which is on the pricier end but is well worth it according to reviews.

To make a simplified old fashioned, ask your flight attendant for a bourbon, a cup of ice, and sugar. For easier mixing, you can ask for an extra empty cup to mix the drink from cup to cup — but if you want to limit waste, you can just do the honors in one cup. We recommend that you pour one sugar packet over the ice, then add a couple of dashes of the bitters you bought — use your straw to mix it up and let the ice melt a bit — then add your bourbon. For those keeping track, the cute, little airplane-sized bottles of bourbon are about 50 milliliters of liquid, a little under the 2 ounces of liquor the recipe calls for. If you managed to buy an orange or bring your own garnish, now is the time to add a slice or a peel. But the drink will do the job without the citrus add.

If you're traveling to a colder destination, or feeling like your throat is scratchy from the dry airplane air, a hot toddy is the perfect cocktail companion for you. A hot toddy is an ideal in-flight cocktail in our book; easy to make (this is one of those cocktails you can fully make with what's available on a standard flight), full of flavor, and will definitely help you unwind into a sleepy state of bliss wait to descend to your next destination. Professional bartenders will typically have some dried spices on hand like cloves and cinnamon sticks to add flavor to your hot toddy, but we feel the drink sips just as smoothly without these additions.

A classic hot toddy is made with three ingredients aside from the boiling water; bourbon, lemon juice, and honey. So, to make this drink from your seat, all you need to ask for is hot water, bourbon, and lemon powder (if you don't have a chance to whip up and pack your own garnish). Speaking of, if you managed to nab a honey packet from the airport Starbucks, or brought your own, now is the time to add it. Honey adds warm caramel notes that balance well with bourbon's oaky undertones. You can also ask your flight attendant if they have honey on hand, but sugar will work in a pinch. 

Flying with an optimistic sense of whimsy? Or nervously headed toward the unknown? Either way, whiskey sours are one of those drinks that fit every feeling. A distant cousin of daiquiris and margaritas, a whiskey sour is the perfect way to liven up those altitude-impacted tastebuds. This is another one of those drinks that's dangerously easy to make. A traditional whiskey sour contains three base ingredients: Alcohol, lemon, and sugar. We like to simplify this recipe even further by using a 3-2-1 ratio for a balanced whiskey sour; that's three parts bourbon, two parts lemon, and one part sugar (use your honey if you have it).

Although traditional whiskey sours are chilled with ice and strained over a glass, we recommend asking for ice for this one. The drink tastes best when it's chilled, so drinking (and making it) over ice is your best option. One thing to keep in mind is this a drink that can quickly tip into too sour territory, so if you're relying on the powdered citrus packets that are now commonplace in the skies, make sure to add it incrementally and give your drink a taste before you continue to dump in the dehydrated lemon. Another easy way to add a little citrus infusion to your whiskey sour is by adding a splash of orange juice, which should typically be available for free on your flight.

You may be more familiar with the Moscow mule, a delightfully effervescent drink that provides the perfect balance between sweet and spicy ginger beer, refreshing lime, and smooth vodka. Well, a Kentucky mule is the same thing, except you swap out the vodka for bourbon. While you're not likely to find a mule-appropriate copper mug in the skies (which is a shame because the copper keeps the drink icy cold), in-flight services are well-equipped with all the ingredients you'd need for a pretty passable Kentucky mule.

To make this cocktail, ask for a cup with ice, bourbon, ginger ale, and lime powder (if you didn't bring your own garnish). Then get to mixing; sprinkle about half a packet of lime powder over your ice, then add all of your bourbon, and as much of the ginger ale as you can fit in the cup. While a traditional mule is made with ginger beer, ginger ale is a great (albeit less spicy) substitute. If you prefer your Kentucky mules to be less sweet, then we say play around with the ratios by pulling back on the ginger ale, which tends to be sweeter than ginger beer.

You may not have heard of a milk punch, but this creamy milk cocktail has been around since the 1700s. If a milk-based bourbon cocktail sounds a little odd, we have one word for you: Eggnog. Yes, eggnog is related to milk punch and is as delicious as it is festive. This is a great cocktail for morning or brunchtime during long-haul flights. Like eggnog, milk punch is typically served cold, but you can definitely try out a hot milk punch by adding some coffee for a caffeine kick, or a little bit of hot water to heat the milk through.

There are two types of milk punch — one is a frothy, creamy "un-clarified" milk punch, and the other is a "clarified" or "English" milk punch. For the purposes of this recipe, we're focused on the un-clarified version, which is more common in the South. Milk punch often calls for vanilla extract, but you obviously won't find any baking staples on your flights so you'll have to get creative with this flavoring aspect of the drink. We recommend asking for flavored half-and-half or oat milk as a substitute for vanilla extract. Otherwise, the drink is simple; just pour your bourbon, milk, half-and-half or cream, and bourbon over ice with some brown sugar if you can get it (regular will work as well), and you'll have yourself a flight-friendly milk punch cocktail.