S’Mores With More. Giving the Fireside Classic an Elevated Spin.
Take a cue from high-end bars and restaurants that are getting creative with this do-it-yourself treat.
5 min
One of America’s greatest contributions to the pantheon of sweet treats is the s’more. Nothing more than a simple combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker (preferably heated up over a crackling fire), s’mores have become a beloved pastime among kids of all ages, and in recent years the once-humble dessert has evolved in a number of ways.
Countless restaurants and resorts have elevated the combination, creating unique offerings that barely resemble the original version. The best part of these fine-dining iterations is that they can be made in the (warm) comfort of home.
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Mansion Global Experience Luxury consulted with a range of culinary talent from across the U.S., seeking out their spins on the beloved dessert. From drinkable and dippable versions to fanciful concoctions made with luxurious ingredients, these recipes will change how you look at s’mores.
The Elvis
One of the toniest hotels in the nation’s capital, Salamander Washington DC, serves this decadent creation at its lobby-level lounge or on the picturesque terrace restaurant overlooking the Washington Marina. “When reimagining the classic s’mores, I wanted to create something truly unique,” says Leanne Wood, pastry sous-chef. “The first combination that came to mind was peanut butter and bananas—a pairing I’ve always adored. I wanted to take it even further and add a bold twist. That’s when the idea of bacon came into play, leading to the creation of tequila-candied bacon. How could I resist combining these iconic flavors into an elevated s’mores experience?”
Ingredients
Makes four servings
8 pieces of milk chocolate bars
8 graham crackers broken into squares
8 marshmallows
8 tablespoons peanut butter
2 bananas, slightly green
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/4 cup dark Anejo Tequila
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 pound bacon
For Tequila Brown Sugar Bacon
Heat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay bacon slices in a single layer on the baking sheet (using two if they won’t fit on one). Brush bacon on both sides with tequila. Sprinkle brown sugar on both sides of the bacon. Bake until crispy, for about 25–30 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, and let cool for at least five minutes before serving.
Directions
Melt butter in a frying pan and gently fry the bananas, being careful not to mash them. When bananas are browned on each side, sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and remove from heat. Top a graham cracker with a square of chocolate. Spread peanut butter generously over another graham-cracker square. Toast a marshmallow and add it to your chocolate and graham-cracker stack. Top with a few caramelized bananas and tequila brown sugar bacon slices. Combine the two crackers to form a sandwich.
S’mores Milk Punch
When it comes to the winter season, Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans provides a memorable environment, especially when patrons indulge in this drinkable take on s’mores at the posh Chandelier Bar. “This drink pulls on our sentimental heartstrings and makes us feel immersed in the festivities,” says chef-partner Alon Shaya. “Milk punch might be trendy today, but this creamy and rich format has been a part of the New Orleans cocktail scene for generations.”
Ingredients
Makes one serving
1.5 ounce bourbon
1 ounce heavy cream
0.75 ounce Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
0.25 ounce simple syrup
1 small graham cracker
Mini marshmallows (or one large marshmallow)
Freshly shaved nutmeg
Directions
Fill a shaker with ice and add the liquids. Shake vigorously for 5 to 7 seconds. Fill an Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice and strain the liquids through the shaker and into the glass. Garnish with nutmeg, graham cracker, and as many marshmallows as desired.
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Maple-Bacon Savory S’mores
Befitting its status as one of Vermont’s most elevated luxury slopeside communities, Spruce Peak—located at the base of Stowe’s imposing Mount Mansfield—serves up s’mores in style. Guests of The Lodge at Spruce Peak can enjoy this savory take on the classic at cozy venues such as the WhistlePig Pavilion and Alpine Hall. “When brainstorming ideas for a wedding group who wanted an over-the-top s’mores bar, we came up with the idea to swap out the traditional marshmallow with raclette cheese—a melty alpine-style cheese that is no stranger to fire,” says executive chef Sean Blomgren. “The savory-sweet pairing of the smoky cheese with our signature maple-bacon jam makes for an unforgettable twist on the traditional s’more.”
Ingredients
Makes four to eight servings
16 black pepper-thyme crackers (or suitable store-bought alternative)
1/2 cup maple-bacon jam
1/2 pound Raclette cheese, cut into eight 2-inch by 2-inch rectangles, ½-inch thick
Roasting sticks
For Maple-Bacon Jam
1 pound bacon, diced
1 large shallot, diced
½ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup Vermont maple syrup
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
2 sprigs thyme
Use a heavy-bottomed shallow pan and render bacon until browned and crispy. Drain most of the bacon fat and add shallots to sweat. Once translucent, add remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until syrupy. Makes 2 cups.
Directions
Make maple-bacon jam ahead of time. When ready to assemble, skewer cheese pieces with two long sticks for stability. Roast over an open fire until bubbly and starting to melt (too melty and the cheese will fall into the fire). Place cheese onto one cracker at a time, and top with bacon jam. Top each with a second cracker to form savory s’mores.
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S’mores Martini
It doesn’t get much cozier than Lake Placid’s Whiteface Lodge in the heart of New York’s Adirondacks. This indulgent cocktail can be enjoyed at Peak 47’s copper-topped bar or while seated outside in one of the resort’s rustic lean-tos. “This cocktail was crafted to perfectly complement the cozy, inviting atmosphere of Peak 47, capturing the essence of Whiteface Lodge—whether you’re savoring it at the bar or relaxing by the fireplace,” says chef Michael Jacobs.
Ingredients
Makes one serving
1 ounce Mozart Chocolate Cream Liqueur
1 ounce Smirnoff Vanilla vodka
1.5 ounces Bailey’s Irish Cream
Ghirardelli chocolate syrup
Crushed graham crackers
2 marshmallows
Directions
Line the rim of a chilled coupe glass with chocolate syrup, and roll the rim onto crushed graham crackers. Combine liquids in a shaker; shake and double-strain into the glass. Place two marshmallows on a toothpick. Toast the marshmallows by briefly lighting them on fire. Allow the flames to naturally extinguish, or carefully blow them out if needed. Once toasted, place the marshmallows on top of the glass.
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Lux S’mores Fondue
Guests of The Gwen, a Luxury Collection Hotel rooted in the history and heritage of downtown Chicago in the 1930s, can enjoy this sociable, communal take on the classic. “There’s something magical about gathering around a fire pit on a winter night,” says executive chef Matt Jergens. “This fondue was inspired by that very feeling—a warm, cozy experience meant to bring friends and family together on our rooftop terrace, sharing laughter, stories, and that perfect bite of melted chocolate by the glow of the fire pits and city lights.”
Ingredients
Makes four to six servings
1 cup Callebaut extra bitter Guayaquil couverture chocolate (chips or bars broken into 1-inch squares)
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey
Pinch sea salt
12 graham crackers
24 marshmallows
1 package of pre-made cheesecake bites or 1 full cheesecake, sliced
1 box or sleeve of shortbread cookies
3 large bananas sliced
1 package of fresh strawberries, cleaned
Directions
Combine the cream and honey in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Pour mixture over chocolate in a mixing bowl; add salt. Stir until smooth, then transfer to a traditional fondue pot over heat. (Use at least a six-cup stainless steel or ceramic fondue pot, electric or integrated burner based on preference.) Using fondue sticks or long wooden skewers, dip preferred items into the fondue and then place in between or on top of graham crackers to make a traditional s’mores bite, or create your own deconstructed s’more with the fondue.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of Mansion Global Experience Luxury.
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OpenAI has shelved the planned launch of GPT-6.1 Astra after internal tests raised concerns about deception and agents acting beyond user authorization, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company says it will investigate the issues and strengthen safety measures before releasing future models.
4 min
OpenAI says it is scrapping the release of its next-generation AI model over safety concerns that researchers raised during internal testing, in one of the clearest signs so far that agent misbehavior could stymie the industry’s rapid progression.
The move follows a summer punctuated by reports of artificial-intelligence systems industrywide going rogue, and marks a rare case of a major AI developer ditching a new release because of safety concerns.
The company had planned to launch the model, known as GPT-6.1 Astra, in the coming days or weeks, aiming for an October debut. The model was more capable than the company’s previous models in completing challenging tasks from end-to-end without human assistance, as well as writing.
The company instead will focus on improving the safety of future models, which it expects to be even more capable.
Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, said in an interview that GPT-6.1 Astra regressed in two areas. Compared with its predecessor, GPT-6 Astra, the model performed poorly on tests measuring alignment, or how well the model adheres to what humans would like it to do. Specifically, GPT-6.1 Astra showed higher levels of deception: It wasn’t always honest about telling users of the actions it did or didn’t take.
Another issue was what OpenAI calls “scope authorization,” meaning that GPT-6.1 Astra would push ahead on a task without asking the user for permission, and would at times reach for external tools and services even if it might be unsafe.
“For anything regarding safety and alignment, there’s a trade off,” Jain said. “You really do need to find what’s the right line between staying within scope, but also avoiding laziness in terms of how the model actually pursues tasks even when it hits friction.”
While GPT-6.1 Astra improved in areas such as “model laziness,” Jain said it didn’t quite meet OpenAI’s bar for safety and alignment, so the company decided not to launch the model publicly.
The announcement comes one day ahead of OpenAI’s annual developer conference in San Francisco. In the past, OpenAI has used the conference as an opportunity to launch new models and services that reduce costs for software developers—a segment the ChatGPT-maker competes with rival AI company Anthropic to win over.
In recent weeks, OpenAI and Anthropic have called on industry partners to slow down the development of cutting-edge AI models and invest in safety standards, noting they will temper the pace of their own internal AI progress.
OpenAI says it is working to investigate a range of agent security incidents that it has discovered in recent months, and address the safety issues underneath them. As part of the work, the company has implemented a new monitoring system to catch AI-agent misbehavior more quickly, and started requiring engineers to use stronger security guardrails for testing its AI systems.
Earlier this summer hundreds of OpenAI’s internal agents, which were tasked with completing a cybersecurity test, ended up hacking into the AI company Hugging Face. Since then, high-profile organizations such as the Australian government and United Nations discovered that OpenAI’s agents used similar, but less extensive, techniques to gain access to their websites.
Many of the publicly known agent-security incidents involved OpenAI’s internal AI models that were never slated for public release.
Last week, OpenAI said it paused training on its most capable AI models after an AI agent slipped through a gap in the company’s internet restrictions to query a public chatbot. The company said its new monitoring systems flagged the incident within 15 minutes, and training on these models remains paused.
GPT-6.1 Astra isn’t one of those models, but a different case, the company said.
“We want to make sure our model development is safe no matter whether that’s in the company, or when we ship it to users,” Jain said. “But when we ship it to users, we have an extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment.”
While the company decided not to ship GPT-6.1 Astra, it hopes to use the same base model to do additional reinforcement learning runs, and create future generations of its GPT-6 models.
OpenAI plans to conduct several deep dives to identify the root cause of the problems identified in GPT-6.1 Astra, Jain said. The work includes ensuring that OpenAI’s reinforcement learning environments are rewarding the right type of behavior, Jain added, though she noted the company would investigate all stages of model development.
AI companies have begun to draw scrutiny from policymakers and public officials, who are paying attention to the rapid development of the technology. Later this week, a Senate subcommittee is holding a hearing with third party AI researchers titled, “Rogue AI: Securing the Homeland Against AI Agent Attacks.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, sued OpenAI in June, claiming that the company and Chief Executive Sam Altman knowingly released an unsafe product and ignored warnings that it could harm users.
In a motion for temporary injunction filed Monday, Uthmeier sought to prevent OpenAI from developing new AI models without third-party approved safeguards, stop ChatGPT from soliciting user engagement and limit the company’s ability to advertise ChatGPT as safe.
Tech companies claim they “cannot stop barreling forward with their potentially civilization-ending endeavors unless they are forced to do so by the government,” Uthmeier said in the filing. “The Florida Attorney General is answering your cry for help.”
An OpenAI spokeswoman said that people want to know AI is being developed safely, “and that starts with what companies like ours do ourselves.”
“Governments have an important role to play in setting robust safety standards for AI, and we’re committed to working with Florida and other states on advancing pragmatic AI policies that apply to the entire AI industry—not just one company,” she said.
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