โTis the season to be festive! 🎄 With the holiday season in full swing and friends and family get-togethers right around the corner, Iโm so excited to share a recipe for a Sโmores Festive Fashionedwith Old Forester, as well as a few tidbits I learned while visiting their Louisville distillery a few weeks ago.
This post was created in partnership with Old Forester and intended for audiences 21+. Thank you for supporting the brands and collaborations that make Bows & Sequins possible!
Letโs first start with a fun cocktail, shall we?! This festive spin on a classic cocktail is sure to be a hit this time of yearโฆ I mean, who doesnโt love a toasted marshmallow?!
Hereโs what youโll needโฆ
- 2oz Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whiskey
- 0.5oz Vanilla Simple Syrup
- 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
- 2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
- Toasted Marshmallow
Chocolate bitters were easy to find at my local liquor store, and feel free to get creative and use Angostura Orange Bitters for a taste thatโs closer to a classic Old Fashioned. If you canโt find Vanilla Simple Syrup (or, you know, your delivery gets delayed 🙃), itโs actually so easy to make your own on the stovetop. There are a ton of recipes online, but youโll basically just need sugar, water, and vanilla extract. For the marshmallows, I toasted mine on my gas stovetop, but Iโm sure a kitchen torch would work just as well — just be careful! Iโd recommend toasting more than you need to serve alongside your cocktails.
Putting this Sโmores Festive Fashioned together couldnโt be easierโฆ
- Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
- Strain into a double old fashioned glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with a toasted marshmallow and serve!
If you caught my Perfect Old Fashioned recipe on Instagram a few weeks ago, you might notice that this recipe calls for a different bottle of Old Forester bourbon. A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to visit the Old Forester distillery on Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville and learned so much about the brandโs history and their different expressions of bourbon. I also got to do a tasting with their Master Taster, Jackie Zykan! (Iโll save this conversation for a different day, but I thought it was so cool that all of the Old Forester employees I met on this trip were femaleโฆ From the Master Taster to the Digital Marketing Manager to the tour lead and beyond! #WhoRunTheWorld)
The tour was so informative, interesting, and interactive! From getting up close and personal with the fermentation tanks to seeing how Old Forester chars all of their own barrels, there wasnโt a dull moment. And #NerdAlert, but I loved learning about the history of the brand along the way! Did you know that Old Forester was the first bottled bourbon?! Old Forester also survived prohibition as the only bourbon continually sold by the same family-controlled company before, during, and after the prohibition.
After our tour, we got to taste! We did a bourbon tasting that was like going down Old Forester memory lane — 1870 Original Batch, 1897 Bottled in Bond, 1910 Old Fine Whisky, and 1920 Prohibition Style. We also enjoyed Modjeskas alongside, which couldnโt have been a better compliment. These handmade marshmallows, wrapped in caramel, hand-dipped in bourbon dark chocolate then sprinkled with smoked sea salt are worth the trip to Louisville in and of themselves, but thankfully you can order them online!
As I mentioned earlier, the Sโmores Festive Fashioned calls for 1910 Old Fine Whisky. On October 22, 1910, a fire on the bottling line halted production of Old Forester. There was mature whisky that was ready to be bottled, that was instead stored in a secondary barrel. What emerged was Old Fine Whisky. Todayโs bottles of 1910 mimic this historic bottling… This expression Old Forester has undergone a second barreling, which gives it a smoother, sweeter flavor with more notes of charred oak. Which goes oh-so-well with a freshly toasted marshmallow in the Sโmores Festive Fashioned!
What are the holidays without a little gift?! Donโt forget to use code OLDFOJS to get $10 towards your purchase of Old Forester on Drizly. Cheers!
Code only valid on Drizly. Must be 21+. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Code valid when you purchase Old Forester (375ml +). Minimum purchase $19.00.ย Valid in CO, IL, DC, and FL. Rebate will automatically be applied towards order total or shipping or delivery fees. Includes orders of non-alcoholic items.Void where prohibited. Drizly Terms & Conditions apply.