The Neverending Trip Down the Camping Rabbit Hole - Leveling Up to a Smoker Lid for Alcohol and Appetizers

To everyone over 20 years old: do you like alcohol?
I’m not a heavy drinker myself, but I absolutely love the time spent enjoying a few drinks and some appetizers♪
Beer, wine, chuhai, sake... with so many different kinds of alcohol, the possibilities for enjoyment just keep expanding.

I used to be bad with Western spirits like whisky, but after hearing that distilled spirits are less likely to cause weight gain, I’ve been challenging myself to try gin and whisky too!
Recently, I've learned to enjoy them by adding citrus fruits like lemon or Sudachi (a specialty of Tokushima) to highballs—look at me growing up (?)!

In the midst of trying easy-to-drink whiskies and searching for "good ways to arrange them," I discovered this!

LOGOS / LOGOS no Shinrin Chotto Smoke suru Lid (Just-a-Smoke Lid)

Apparently, smoking whisky increases its sweetness and mellowness, so I thought, "Isn't this worth a try?"... and promptly clicked "buy" (lol).

Trying to Smoke Whisky

Since it seemed like it would be fun to see what's happening during the smoking process, I poured the whisky into a transparent glass and set the "Just-a-Smoke Lid."
*By the way, I wondered what "Lid" meant and looked it up—it just means "futa" (cover/lid). Now I see!

I opened the cover of the lid and added a pinch of smoking chips.

I ignited it with a turbo lighter like the ones sold at 100-yen shops.
With a normal lighter, the chips might not burn well, so it seems better to use a burner or a turbo-type lighter to get them burning properly.

Oh! The smoke is coming out♪

I'll wait like this for 10 to 20 minutes. In the meantime, time for a little nap♪
(Napping outdoors is truly the best!)

……zzz……

Now, it looks like it might be about ready?
When I remove the lid, a subtle smoky flavor wafts out♪

As for the taste... Oh! It's mellow!!
The sharp sting of alcohol in the whisky—which I used to be bad with—feels rounded out, making it very easy to drink! Plus, the deep flavor lingers in the aftertaste. It's delicious♪
This is definitely going into my regular rotation!!

It takes a little extra effort, but enjoying that very process is the real pleasure of camping, so I think this will become a must-have item for my trips (^-^)

Attempting to Smoke Appetizers

Since I was at it, I tried smoking some appetizers too!
When it comes to smoking food that doesn't require heating, things like cheese and nuts immediately come to mind.
This time, I challenged myself with standard nuts and a slightly unusual (?) choice: smoked potato chips♪

Almonds

To fully enjoy the aroma of the smoke, I prepared "plain roasted almonds" with no seasoning.
The moment I put a finished almond in my mouth, the smoky scent wafted through the air♪ This definitely works!

Potato Chips

I chose a simple "lightly salted" flavor for these as well.
The result is... delicious!!
Not only was the aroma great when I brought them to my mouth, but there was a much more distinct change in taste compared to the almonds—my usual potato chips leveled up!

The changes in aroma and flavor likely vary depending on the amount of chips, the smoking time, and the shape of the food (whether it's a block or sliced), so experimenting with various ingredients seems like it would be fun♪

LOGOS / LOGOS no Shinrin Tokusen Kunsei Chip 300g (Cherry)

LOGOS / LOGOS no Shinrin Tokusen Kunsei Chip 300g (Maple)

I used cherry chips this time, but since there are many other types of chips available, I'd like to try various ones and enjoy the differences in aroma.