(This content is intended for 21+ only. Please drink responsibly. This article is a paid partnership with Coopers’ Craft. All thoughts are our own.)

With spending a lot of time at home this past year have you been looking for more out of the box ideas for a date night in? We know we have been! It was the perfect time for an invite from The Blogger Union to attend a Zoom party for bourbon tasting and fondue making. With two amazing things involved like Bourbon and Cheese, of course we said yes! Coopers’ Craft Bourbon and the cheese-wizards over at Di Bruno Bros. partnered to present a fun, virtual event: Fireside Fondue with Coopers’ Craft. It was the perfect excuse to learn some new culinary tricks and have a date night at home that was a little more creative than watching Disney+ all night. Read on to hear all the details and recipe how to’s…

Preparing for Fireside Fondue for Two

The awesome folks at Cooper’s Craft sent us just about everything we needed ahead of our fondue night. We received some magic mail that included all sorts of goodies:

A bottle of Coopers’ Craft Original
Bundaberg Ginger Beer
A drink mixer and bar accessories
A custom charcuterie board
A Boska Fondue pot
A gift box of gourmet food from Di Bruno Bros.

We also needed to gather a few items from around the kitchen and the store:

Ice
Limes
Mint
Favorite berries or fruit
Juicer
Knife
Matches or lighter (for the sterno)
White wine for fondue recipe
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Bowl
A cheese grater
Whisk

The Blogger Party

We joined a group of other bloggers from The Blogger Union for a virtual Zoom party. It was fun to cook with people all over the US. Coopers’ Craft Brand Ambassador, Fitz Bailey, led us in a Bourbon tasting and a step by step of how to make a Cooper’s Cup Cocktail (full recipe below). We really enjoyed trying this new to us Bourbon. Coopers’ Craft Original is bottled at 82.2 proof for a gentle flavor profile that is well-balanced through the smooth finish and we found it had a lot of notes of apple, honey. The cocktail was super easy to make and refreshing, definitely going to be added to our list of go to drinks to make at home!

As we sipped our cocktails there was a special appearance by Chef Ashley Thomas to teach us the art of making cheese fondue. Now while we are very familiar with cheese fondue (Julie’s family cooks it every Christmas eve), we had always used pre packaged cheese and had never made it from scratch. With the Chef’s step by step tips we were able to learn how easy it actually is (and the gourmet ingredients and high quality pot made it even better). We also realized using a pot with Sterno (instead of our usual electric) makes Fondue a portable meal. We realized there are some fun possibilities to dine outside with friends or even take Fondue into the great outdoors.

The Recipes

Cooper’s Cup Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:

2 parts Coopers’ Craft Original 82.2
1 part fresh Lime Juice
Top with ginger beer
Lime and/or mint sprig for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Add one jigger of Combine Coopers’ Craft 82.2 to a mixer.
Add a small can of ginger beer.
Squeeze a few wedges of lime juice in.
Shake and our over ice in a mug/highball and garnish.

TIP: To add your own personal signature touch to the cocktail take a muddler and a few pieces of your favorite seasonal fruit. Berries are ready to go but make sure you skin citrus, pomes, and stonefruit. Stonefruit should also be pitted prior to use. (We tried blueberries and raspberries!)

Di Bruno Bros. & Coopers’ Craft Bourbon Cheese Fondue

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. Reading Raclette
1/2 lb. Seven Sisters
1/2 lb. Cabot Cloth Bound Cheddar
2 tbs Cornstarch
1 cup Dry White Wine
1/2 cup Coopers’ Craft Original 82.2
Few Drops of Pickle Juice (we used Brine Street Yards IPA Spears)
1 tsp. Mustard (we used Edmond Fallot Dijon)
Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Set up the fondue pot. Light the sterno to get the pot warming.
Add the wine and half the Bourbon to the pot.
While the liquid is warming, grate the three cheeses into a large bowl. Add the cornstarch and “massage” lightly into the cheese.
Slowly add the cheese to the pot stirring with a wisk. The cheese should thicken and smooth out as you go.
As it thickens add the mustard, pickle juice, black pepper add then the remaining bourbon.

TIP: If your mixture seems too liquid keep adding more cheese, you can also try a little more cornstarch too.

This is what we call Fondue making teamwork!

Our Fondue Date Night

After our fun Zoom party we were ready to now enjoy our new recipes just the two of us. It was fun to enjoy a couple cocktails together and sample the cheese with different pairings. Previously we had always made classic Gruyère with wine. Incorporating this new blend of cheeses and bourbon was something we would have never thought of but loved it. The mix of all the flavors made for a delicious cheese to pair with some great cut up items to dip such as:

This pot of cheese with all the dippables was plenty for the 2 of us. We even had some leftover to enjoy the next day too. We love that Fondue is a very interactive and social meal, and while we were craving some romantic two-some time on this occasion this idea would work great with a small group of friends or family too. We can’t wait to remake this recipe again and share with Julie’s fondue loving family!

Coopers' Craft Bourbon — Apologies for making you drool…

About Coopers' Craft

Coopers’ Craft is a celebration of Brown-Forman’s more than 70 years of expertise raising its own barrels at Brown-Forman Cooperage. Drawing inspiration from the craft of raising barrels and the importance of wood in bourbon-making, Coopers’ Craft uses a unique charcoal finishing process. Coopers’ Craft is a product of Brown-Forman Corporation, a premier producer and marketer of fine quality beverage alcohol brands including Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, Tequila Herradura, Korbel, Finlandia, Chambord and Sonoma-Cutrer.

About DiBruno Bros.

For 80 years Di Bruno Bros. has offered nothing but the highest quality products, made with integrity (often in-house), and infused with the story of the people who made them. It’s a story of discovery, of two brothers, aunts and uncles, of Culinary Pioneers and Philadelphians. And it is that dinner table mentality that has enabled Di Bruno Bros. to not only endure for so long, but also to grow and prosper both locally and nationally. They provide extraordinary food experiences, inspired by their legacy. Also, they just really love cheese.

A special thank you to our partners The Blogger Union, Coopers’ Craft, Di Bruno Bros., and Punch Media