Shake Up Your Spring With a Sherry Cocktail

Some people say that there is a ‘sherry revolution’ happening. In the cocktail scene, this is certainly the case, with bartenders from New York to Milan extolling the virtues of these unique Spanish wines.

So what exactly is sherry, and why is it suddenly coming back into fashion? With five different types of dry sherry, it is a drink which can appeal to anyone. They all come from the same region of Spain, the Marco de Jerez production area in the south of the country.

All types of sherry start off with a base wine – generally made from Palomino grapes – of about 12% alcohol. The specific categorisation of sherry is down to the aging process; after the base wine is made, it is aged for a time either biologically (under a layer of yeast called ‘flor’ – flower in Spanish) or oxidatively (aged under controlled exposure to oxygen).

Biologically aged sherry is known as Fino or Manzanilla, and oxidatively aged sherry is known as Oloroso. The final two dry sherry styles are Amontillado and Palo Cortado: Amontillado is effectively a Fino which has been refortified with alcohol; this kills the yeast and it then goes on to age oxidatively. Palo Cortado is similar, but rarer, and spends less time under the yeast.

Fino and Manzanilla wines are generally a pale-yellow colour, with notes of almond, lemon, and herbs; having been aged under ‘flor’ they frequently have strong yeast-derived flavours, such as brioche or toast. Oloroso is generally brown in colour, with nutty, spicy notes of toffee, dried apricots, or even leather.

Amontillado and Palo Cortado as you can imagine have elements of each of the above sherries, Amontillado is often an amber colour, and develops nuttier oxidative flavours complementing the toastier yeast-derived ones. Palo Cortado is very similar, however having spent less time under ‘flor’ it has a fuller, richer body.

All these exciting flavours, along with the fact that sherry is generally lower in alcohol than many other cocktail ingredients, explains why bartenders are so interested in incorporating it into their recipes.

If you want to try your hand at making an exciting sherry cocktail, read on to discover our selection of recipes below.

Ingredients

30ml Fino

30ml Dry vermouth

2-3 dashes orange bitters

A squeeze of lemon

1 olive for garnish

Method:

Add all liquid ingredients to a mixing glass, along with some ice.

Stir until chilled, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with the olive.

Bloody Sherry

Ingredients:

30ml Fino

60ml tomato juice

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

A squeeze of lime

4 drops tabasco sauce

2 twists fresh black pepper

A pinch of salt

Method:

Combine all ingredients and stir over ice.

Strain into rocks glass filled with fresh ice, garnish with celery stalk, and lemon peel.

Rebujito Ice

Ingredients

50ml Fino

250ml lemonade

2 leaves mint

1 slice lime

10ml Tequila

Method:

In a tall glass filled with crushed ice, add the Fino, lemonade and Tequila.

Stir gently and garnish with mint leaves and a slice of lime.

Sherry Cobbler

Ingredients:

70ml Palo Cortado

15ml Pedro Ximenez

1 lemon in quarters

1 orange in quarters

2 raspberries

Method:

Shake all the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker.

Pour over crushed ice in a tall glass.

 Fino Tonic

Ingredients:

70ml Fino

200ml tonic

2 drops Angostura bitters

Ice

Lemon slice to garnish

Method:

Fill a gin glass with ice, before pouring the Fino, tonic, and bitters over this.

Garnish with a slice of lemon.