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!
Thyme simple syrup sounds INCREDIBLE. And when paired with bourbon and grapefruit juice I can’t even image how good it gets! Definitely going to have to make this. My favorite summertime drinks memory is from five years ago, when I “mixed” my first cocktails (let’s forget about those horrible cream soda and dark rum nights in the beginning of college..oof.) My friends and I were at the beach and knew next to nothing about drinking for taste (as opposed to the buzz,) let alone making good cocktails. We spent hours researching what we were going to concoct and settled on Mad Men-era drinks with a twist: a cherry Tom Collins, an orange mango ginger Old Fashioned, and a classic Gimlet. We felt like SUCH grownups, and drank them on my friend’s deck at dusk. It was a pretty perfect night, but thankfully we now know a little more about making drinks. Thanks for featuring such a rad giveaway! xo
my favorite summer drink memory is from when my family and I would camp together. We had to enjoy drinks we could make at the campsite which often included just a bottle of homemade sangria stashed in the camping cooler. There’s nothing quite like sitting around the campfire with friends and family enjoying sangria and s’mores ;)
I’m more of a beer drinker, so some of my fondest memories involve going to the Cape Cod Brewery (in MA) as soon as we get onto the Cape and having some of their delicious Cape Cod Red Ale that we really only get when we’re on vacation. As for fizzy drinks, I love all seltzer!
I treasure my memories of simple G&Ts on the porch with my friends on too many warm summer evenings to count – the clink of ice, the murmur of conversation, and the floral fizz and acidity of the drink on my palate are simple sensory memories that will stick with me for a long time.
Wow, must try this recipe. I love anything with bourbon!!
My summertime memory for a drink is probably having watermelon blended with a splash of lime soda. So good!
My favorite summertime drink is a pimms cup, which I first had while visiting my sister in London years ago.
I love sparkling drinks! My favorite is ginger beer with a lot of ice.
My favourite summer drink memory is a fresh watermelon and lime margarita. Made with blended watermelon, freshly squeezed lime and tequila! Yum!
When we visited my aunt Lucy, she used to have us nap while she cooked. We’d sleep on her giant cool fanned four poster bed in the heat of Arkansas while she made sweet tea in the hot afternoon sun. When we got up were allowed to drink the tea while sitting on her rocking chairs on the big wrap around white front porch and watch the chickens mill around the front yard. She’d be fryin up frog legs and bacon, slicing big tomatoes and wilting greens for lunch. All of is washed down by the cool iced sweet tea. That sweet tea represents summer, family, our childhood, wonderful summer visits and aunt Lucy, long gone but not forgotton. We all make that sweet tea now and serve it to our kids here in Michigan. We try to sometimes change it, add spices and herbs, constantly experimenting with tea and summer drinks.
My favorite summer drink has to be coconut horchata! I love the refreshing taste and it transports me back to a beach somewhere in the Mayan Riviera.