I spent yesterday on the Pine River with some outdoorsy, backwoods types. Not like those guys from The Revenant, but people who do know their way around a duck blind and a from-scratch campfire. To put it into the proper perspective, I heard a group talking about the fact there was a log jam in the river while they were kayaking, and one of them said, “We’ll have to take a chainsaw with us next time…”

I wasn’t actually tempted to drink anything, but remote campsites and trout streams and the feel of rain in the air – that close, thick chill when the wind kicks up before a storm… well, that’s drinking weather. But I walked around and sipped some gassy water with cranberry (and a hint of cherry) and found Michigan lady slipper flowers – something outdoorsmen also get a kick out of…

And we happened upon what I will call the Danger Zone. A group of happy chappies lounging around a wood fire with a welcome sign that said, “What happens at camp Stays at camp!” The display below is reminiscent of Hogs and Heffers, but instead of taking off and signing your bra, you drink and sign a bottle of Crown. Same motivation – letting the world know you have been someplace relevant and leaving your mark for posterity…