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!
this year? a margarita flight after surfing all day. perfect combo!
I think my favorite summer drink memories are from the summer after I finished college. I moved back home and lived in a camper in my parents back yard. lol My mom and I would make mojitos on the weekends and relax out by their pool. This is probably when my “friendship” with my mom really started. Now I think of her as one of my best friends, cool how that happens when you get older and can share a drink together.
My summertime drink memory includes my sister in law , a Mai Tai, and a Luau! We took a girls trip to Kauai, Hawaii and went to a luau where you can drink all you want…well, she is not more than a 2 drink kinda gal, so needless to say after the Luau and a few Mai Tais, I found myself running through the streets chasing a giggling woman in pouring rain back to the condo we were staying at! (we had walked to a neighboring hotel bar after the Luau) I kept telling her we needed to wait till the storm past but she bolted like a gazelle and I never knew she was so fast….and silly! No one was hurt in the chase, just wet to our undies, and it is one of my favorite silly memories!
Last summer was the “summer of cocktails,” so every week we tried something new. One memorable drink was called a Molly Ringwald, I think based on her role in Pretty in Pink. It has chambord, vodka and Godiva white chocolate liquor. While the drink was not a keeper, we discovered the Godiva liquor was out of this world.
My favorite summer cocktail memory is the first time I discovered a boozy Arnold Palmer. I was at a local bar where they seasonally infuse their own booze, and had a drink with black tea infused vodka with lemonade and a splash of iced tea. IT WAS SOOOOOO DELICIOUS! I’ve been hooked on them ever since. I prefer bourbon in them now, but that first time I discovered my fave summer cocktail.
OK, this is probably going to sound gross and you probably are too young to remember Fizzies but we LOVED them as kids. They were little tabs about the size of a Tums and you dropped them in a glass of water and they turned the water into fruit soda! I loved them and you can find them every once in a blue moon nowadays but they seem to always be sugar free when I do find them. Deal breaker! Oh and in the movie, “Animal House”, the frat boys filled up the swimming pool with Fizzies and of course, got in trouble. That was as a kid. Now, I just love a nice cold glass of Pinot Grigio!!
Ice cold Horchata while strolling down the beach. Ah summer!
Summer time on the now closed double tiered patio of the now closed Melrose Cafe in Calgary. The lush planters around you, the propane heaters to take off the chill in the evening, the waterfall at the back drowning out some of the street noise. I remember ordering the strong fruity cocktails brought to your table, shaken there, served with some frozen cranberries. One was all you needed!
My best summertime drink was actually this summer.
This summer was the summer where I realized what direction to go on life: beer, so it makes sense that my best drink memory would be a beer.
I used to live in a beautiful and well known town in Oregon, with a great river running through it. Back then, the go-to was always a Deschutes Chainbreaker IPA. i have many memories of hiking with a six pack of this stuff in my backpack, going over to friend a friends house, or simply hanging out in the backyard with one of these. I have since moved away and hadnt had much of that beer since, but a couple months ago Inwas playing tennis on a scorching hot day. O had brought two of these beers that I had bought just prior to playing. Cracked it open and the mild citrus flavor sent me back to another time.
Oh yes. How much do I love summer rain. I wish I could remember the sound of it here in LA (lol but also really not at all lol). These look so delish, Stephanie!