Hi Mat here, located in sunny San Diego. Southern California is my playground but I have been to Utah, Nevada and Arizona and planning to explore more states.
I drive a 2018 Jeep Rubicon that is taking me everywhere I want. I enjoy the outdoors and getting away from civilization and explore what nature has to offer. I dabble in photography, cooking and mixology.
Happy to be here and meeting you guys here or somewhere else.
Mixology eh? Come on out to Utah we could have a hell of a time around the fire 
diggin the pop top
Great pictures and nice rig!
Welcome, Mat!
I’m into quality craft cocktails and good food at the end of the day after the driving is done!
To keep the work and cleaning to a minimum, I like to batch cocktails to share with others.
Good to meet you - great pic!
I am planning to hit Utah this year and looking forward to a good time around the fire.
Haven’t done batch cocktails yet, but a group camping trip sounds like a good opportunity to do one. What do you usually batch?
I think my 2 most popular batches are Margaritas and Egg Nog.
One of my favorites is Rum Punch. I like to make a Rum Punch in the spirit of those made by British Sailors in the 1600s. They learned how to make punch when sailing by India and introduced it to the Caribbean. That would utilize Strong Black Tea, Cane Sugar, Fresh Lime Juice and Rhum Vieux. That one is relatively quick and easy.
That said, you can take any favorite cocktail and just scale that up. Manhattans, Negronis, and other classic cocktails do well. If you won’t have ice you need to adjust the recipe by adding about 20% - 30% water to simulate the dilution from stirring or shaking with ice. It usually takes a little tasting and adjustment the first time batching any cocktail. I try to take into account who will be on the trip, because not everyone likes, Negronis, Black Manhattans, Boulevardiers or Revolvers. Margaritas are usually a safe bet since that’s the world’s most popular cocktail.
@Mat I was talking to @Cassiano after my battery box install about how I’m considering 100A charging from alternator to rear battery box (currently 50A, although the system was built to handle 100A)… Cassiano mentioned all his “friends named Mat/Matt” tend to “go big” on their builds. 
Looking forward to meeting ya! I just lined up a meeting with Baja Designs in a couple weeks near you, I’ll let ya know when I’m in town!
@headhunter thanks for the pointers I’ll be playing around with it. I do like a tasty Black Manhattan.
@Matthew haha, yeah I tend to overbuild and over engineer…funny you say you want to go up to 100A charging I was thinking the same.
Anyways, I am looking forward to meeting you when you make it down here.
