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!
my favorite summer drink is tea infused vodka with fresh squeezed lemonade. My friends and I call them DAP (Drunk Arnold Palmers). So good and refreshing.
Mine is making iced tea and sitting my my Nana and Papa’s porch watching the world go by…..so incredibly relaxing and always makes me smile!
This summer my memories are all non-alcoholic. I was rockin’ sparkling pink lemonade while my friends drank wine since I’ve got a bun in the oven!
Jazz in the Garden with sangria is one of my favorite summertime adventures!
My favorite summer drink memory is so simple, but I think about it often. I was working in a summer stock theater with a restaurant attached. We finished a show one horribly hot August night, and we were all so very tired and sweaty and hungry. The kitchen was closing, but the cooks saw the sorry state we were in and took pity on our bedraggled crew. They prepared for us one of the best meals I’ve had to this day: steamed clams and corn on the cob, both served with lots of butter. We sat in the bed of a pickup truck in the parking lot and ate with our hands, washing it all down with the coldest, most refreshing beer I’ve ever drank. The memory of that magical night is still so present for me, 10 years later. We had worked so hard that summer, struggling with the heat and the lack of resources and with all of our individual anxieties about growing up. But in that moment, sitting under the impossibly starry sky pulling long sips of cold beer, all the world seemed open and good.
Best memory was drinking Canadian wine out of a box, just in it’s vacuum-packed sac while on a canoe trip in Algonquin park in Ontario, Canada. My best friend and I had just canoed 20KM in a day and were sitting on the rocks by the lake at our campfire and drinking this terrible yet perfect wine. Best memory.
Easy! Mojitos all the way.
I learned about shrubs this summer and my life has basically never been the same since.
The carbonation system (and this drink!) Look like a lot of fun. I’ve seen a bartender friend use one before but it’s near to see a home system, too.
sipping negronis on a hot deserted brooklyn sidewalk and reading the sunday paper.
Caiparoska! Perfect for the summer. It’s a take on a Caiparinha, only lower in calories! Made with muddled limes, 1 part vodka, crushed ice, then topped 3/4’s of the way with cluba soda and topped off with a splash of sprite zero. Perfect summer drink to keep you nice and cool during these hot days!