Do you love it when it rains in the summer? I love the respite from the heat, the sound of the rain beating down on the windows, and that little bit of coziness in an otherwise decidedly un-cozy season. I like to curl up in an armchair with a good drink in hand and just dream away the afternoon.
These little summer session old fashioneds are the perfect drink to curl up with. First off, they’re a session (a riff off of session beers; lower alcohol beers), which in theory, allow you to drink more while getting less drunk. In that sense, they’re not technically old fashioneds, but they have a couple of similarities: bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters.
That’s where the similarities end. I added in some thyme for herbaceousness, as well as some citrus fruit for a bit of a summer punch. Then I threw everything into Bonne O’s Home Carbonation system to bubble it all up. Bubbles make all drinks better and this is extra fun because all of the items go straight into the bottle for the ultimate infusion of flavor.
I know summer is winding down, but I hope you guys are getting your drink on anyway!
GIVEAWAY: I paired up with Bonne O to give away a Home Carbonation System so you can get creative and make your own fizzy drinks at home.
ENTER: To enter, leave a comment below with your best summertime drinks memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and contact them by email. Open to Canadian and US Residents only. (Sorry international friends.) Contest ends September 7th at 12AM PST. Good Luck!
Update: Congrats Katelyn, you’ve won yourself a Bonne O! Check your inbox for the details!
Thyme Simple Syrup Recipe
makes about 1/2 cup of syrup
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 15 minutes
total time: 20 minutes
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4-5 springs fresh thyme
Add the water and sugar to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from the heat. Add the thyme springs and let steep for 15 minutes. The longer you let it steep, the more intense it will be.
Summer Session Old Fashioned Recipe
serves 3-4
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
- 1 orange
- 1 grapefruit
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 6-7 dashes angostura bitters
- 1 batch thyme simple syrup (see above recipe)
- water, or sparkling water to top
- orange twists, to garnish
- thyme springs, to garnish
Section the orange and grapefruit and cut into bite-sized chunks.
For Bonne O Home Carbonation System: Place the fruit and bourbon in the bottle. Shake in the bitters and top to the rim with ice-cold water. Place the thyme syrup in the flavor chamber and activate the machine to carbonate. Pour over ice and enjoy with orange twists and thyme!
In a pitcher: combine the fruit, bourbon, bitters, and thyme simple syrup. Top with 1 1/2 – 2 cups sparkling water. Pour over ice and enjoy with orange twists and thyme!
Hello ! Ok so ‘im international hence my post won’t count for the give away. But I wanted to share this: where i’m from we always have drinks before lunch and diner in the summer. We have this anise drink that we mix with ice cold water and almond syrup. It is delicious and refreshing. Whenever I taste it, it feels like summer :)
This looks delicious and what a cool sounding product! My problem with the current carbonators on the market are that you cannot infuse them, you have to mix the stuff in separate which always causes a loss of fizz. I had never even heard of this before, how neat!
My favorite summer drinks memory by far would have to be going on a biking camping trip with friends in upstate NY a couple years back. We picked wild blackberries and crushed them into an empty water bottle that we had in a backpack. We brought a small amount of champagne yeast and sprinkled it in there to help the process. And then we biked, and biked, and biked. My butt got sore, the juice got tossed together, and the heat of the sun caused it to ferment. We chilled it in a stream and enjoyed it that night by a small campfire. It tasted like pure alcoholic summer, (is there any other kind?)
What a beautiful looking cocktail! I love the addition of grapefruit to this – my husband loves an old fashioned so will give these a go!
Oh, this is beautiful! I think my best summertime drinks memory is the first time I had a mojito. Right? Isn’t that everyone’s favorite memory? Mojitos are magical!
This look faaaaantastic! My favorite summer drink memory is from a long time ago…2009? I had my first Pimm’s cup made for me by some British friends while we were working in Switzerland. I’d never heard of Pimm’s and loved the taste so much we got SUPER tipsy and decided it would be a good idea to have a talent show. I believe my talent was something along the lines of turning a hot dog into a string cheese type man. Summer drinks can truly turn you into a fool…but a fool of the best kind :)
Those citrus fruits are beauts! I’m sure they tasted as good as they look in those Old Fashioneds.
This is almost too much. Old Fashioned’s are my favorite cocktail by far. I’m obsessed. And then you got all fizzy and thyme on me? You’re a genie(us) in a bottle. OK, favorite summer drink memory. Probably making sangria in college with by boyfriend. We threw all the fruits we had on hand into a huge pitcher with white wine and rum and noshed on the liquor-soaked fruits for days Needless to say, it was a huge hit in the hot weather :)
My favorite is blackberry infused vodka, made with blackberries picked by me with rosemary infused simple syrup, lots of ice, topped off with club soda, super refreshing and very pretty to look at. lovely and delicious, a win-win!
Oh man… my best summer drink memory is a a bourbon, blackberry, and mint iced tea concoction that I drank while floating down a slow-moving river in an inner tube. That was a truly fabulous day.
Nothing beats drinking margaritas outside and munching on chips and guac. I could do that every single summer day!
xo, Ellie