Sherry!
Are you thinking of your Grandmother’s sherry? Then you’d better stop that right now! Regular viewers & visitors will know, I’m forever espousing the wonders of sherry- it’s an amazing secret weapon in your cocktail making arsenal. I’m going to take you through what exactly sherry is, the different styles of it, and how best to use it (while having a little taste of course!). I can’t resist using sherry in cocktails, so if that appeals to you then you should subscribe to Behind the Bar!
What is Sherry?
Sherry is, very basically, a fortified wine which is made in a specific region of Spain. ‘Fortified’ means a wine which has had spirit added to it to give it a higher alcohol content; it doesn’t necessarily mean that sugar has been added to it. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the majority of sherries are dry (NOT SWEET). They are aged white wines, which develop massive complexity during the distinctive ageing process.
Sherry must be made in the south of Spain, in an area of Andalucia known as the SHERRY TRIANGLE, between the towns of JEREZ, EL PUERTO DE SANTA MARIA and SANLUCAR DE BARRAMEDA. As a side note, it is an amazingly beautiful region and if anyone gets the chance to visit you should- definitely my happy place! The unique soils and climate here are perfect for growing the three grapes sherry is made from: PALOMINO, PEDRO XIMINEZ and (the lesser used) MOSCATEL.
For a long time, it was thought that sherry had to be made there because of the particular climate and conditions causing the very important FLOR (layer of yeast- more on this later!) to form. However, winemakers have disproved this, and you can find sherry style wines made in a lot of wine producing regions now, although they can’t be called sherry (much like how sparkling wines made outside of champagne are not Champagne). Often they will be labelled by the style of sherry they are closest to (for instance Fino), or folks can get creative with names- Australia has come up with the word APERA for its sherry like wines.
A common feature of these wines is that they will be aged in a SOLERA SYSTEM. Which means that barrels are topped up with newer wines as the older wine is takes out be bottled. This is why you’ll see some bottles of sherry with crazily old dates written on them. Of course, the amount of sherry from that year would be pretty darn diluted by now but still cool to be able to drink something which such a long pedigree!
Major Styles
Because sherries are made from the same few grapes, the flavour differences mostly come from the production and ageing processes.
It’s helpful to break this rather large subject down in to two categories- DRY sherry, and SWEET sherry.
DRY SHERRIES are made from Palomino grapes, which are fermented to make a dry white wine. This ‘base wine’ is tasted and classified according to its flavour profile. This is where FLOR comes in. It is a layer of yeast that forms over the top pf the wine. When the wine is fortified past a certain point, this yeast layer won’t form because the higher alcohol level kills it. Really good, delicate base wine with lots of floral characteristics are earmarked for BIOLOGICAL OR NON OXIDATIVE AGEING and so are fortified less, while more robust base wines will be earmarked for OXIDATIVE AGEING and have more alcohol added.
WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!
Well, ‘oxidative’ refers to oxygen in the air, so it’s just talking about whether or not the wine will be aged open to the air or not. Have you ever opened a bottle of white wine for cooking, popped it in the cupboard and forgotten about it? I have, and it changes heaps! It gets much darker, and starts to taste like dried fruit, nuts and even mushrooms rather than bright and fresh citrus and stone fruits. That’s the effect of the oxygen getting in there- this process can be delayed (but not stopped) by storing things in the fridge, which is why I’m always nagging you about keeping vermouth and sherry in the fridge!
So, the lighter, brighter wines will be aged under this layer of yeast, the flor, to protect them from the effects of oxygen.
On the other hand, the effect of oxygen actually enhances the coarser wines, allowing them to develop amazing depth of flavour and complexity.
The flor can also die naturally or be killed off deliberately during the maturation process which creates a really interesting in between style!
So, in the category of dry sherry you have an incredible range of flavour profiles- hopefully you’re starting to see why they are such useful flavour enhancers for cocktails! But, before I get in to that, we need to chat about sweet sherries…
SWEET SHERRIES can be made in a couple of ways. The most intense ones will be made by late harvesting Pedro Ximinez or Moscatel grapes, and then drying them in the sun. Picking them later means the grapes will be really ripe and full of sugar, and drying them turns them in to RAISINS- you can see why pouring a PX can sometimes feel like pouring a glass of oil! Since fermentation is the process of turning sugar in to alcohol, their fermentation is actually cut short to retain a lot of that sugar (and the alcohol is bumped up via fortification). Older PX is literally some of the most powerful, intriguing sips I’ve ever had in my life- allowing something with that much inherent character to develop over time is always going to blow your mind!
The other way of doing it is by taking a dry base wine (one made with Palomino) and then blending it with PX, Moscatel or just a concentrated grape syrup. THIS IS YOUR GRANDMA’S SHERRY! This is the cheapest way of making sweet sherry, and while it definitely has it’s place (I love a Lustau East India Cream Sherry after dinner!) it is the one that was often left to languish in a cupboard, to be dusted off each Christmas day for years in a row…
Flavour profiles and uses for different styles
Alright, alright, enough of the technical stuff- let’s get stuck in! Sherry is amazing because it brings a really unique flavour, so can be used to add another dimension to a host of classics or can be built on for beautiful custom creations. Although, of course, very good, very old sherry will be expensive, you can easily invest in a good quality sherry for half the cost of most spirits and liqueurs, and it expands your repertoire exponentially. It is also lower ABV than spirits, but higher than wine, so it has enough backbone to carry the dilution of a cocktail, but you can have two instead of one!
MANZANILLA – This is made in Sanlucar de Barrameda, which is by the sea, and the cooler, more constant climate there allows a really thick layer of flor to form. This means it is really light, delicate and lively, with a maritime, salty edge to it and also notes of yeast from the flor layer. The word ‘Manzanilla’ actually means chamomile, which is another classic flavour note. It is in my absolute favourite cocktail, the Jabberwocky, and it really elevates this wet martini. Or, try it in a Margarita- we know tequila loves salt! I also like to add a spike to Bloody Marys for an awesome maritime punch.
FINO – Fino is literally the inland twin of Manzanilla. I find it more herbal and less saline because of this, but they are very similar. Because Fino is a little softer and more citrus, it goes excellently with gin- check out the London Calling. If martinis more your thing, try a Tuxedo, or just add a fino rinse to your favourite combination and watch it sing! That said, fino has even found a place in fruity tiki drinks nowadays as a way of balancing out all that tropical sweetness with a herbal dryness. At Bomba, we like to use it as a base for low ABV, Collins style drinks like the Patsy Collins- just make sure it is robust enough to stand up and definitely don’t overdilute- ICE, ICE, and more ICE! Both Manzanilla and Fino need to be crisp and clean, so even storing them in the fridge they only really last a couple of weeks, a month at a push. Luckily they quite often come in smaller 375 or 500ml bottles.
AMONTILLADO – So I told you there are halfway houses, and this is one. Some wines are chosen to have their flor killed off at some point along their ageing. This means they have the herbal and bready flavours of a fino, but with an amazing structure and length. It becomes really nutty and almost a little tobacco-ish. I don’t know how often I say ‘this cocktail needs something’ and reach for amontillado- ready made complexity! It is rum’s best friend in tiki drinks and stirred down boozy numbers alike. That said, it doesn’t overpower gin in small quantities, and works with tequila and whisky too, so if you can only have one sherry this might be the one to go for! It is the backbone of a Sherry Cobbler, or add a splash to a Hot Toddy… Because it has been aged oxidatively anyway, it can stand being left open for quite a while as those more mature notes just continue developing.
PALO CORTADO – Palo Cortados are anomalies- they are wines that were destined to be a Fino or Manzanilla, but for some natural reason their flor dies off (unlike Amontillados, which are always destined to be so and have alcohol added to kill their flor deliberately). This is where the get their name, from the cross drawn on the barrel meaning ‘this wine is doing its own thing, let’s just see what happens!’ This means that they were among the most delicate and refined of the base wines, but then go on to develop all of the texture and body of an oloroso- they are incredible wines. This means they can be used in place of fino or manzanilla in cocktails such as the Bamboo or Rebujito but add an incredible depth of flavour. You are also seeing more and more bartenders building drinks around their incredible profile, like the Palo Negre which combines the sherry with rum, tequila and orange liqueur. Sounds weird but it works!
OLOROSO – Oloroso sherry is made from the most robust of the base wines and aged entirely oxidatively, with no protective flor. This means that it is full bodied and gives the impression of a raisin-y sweetness, even though it is still a dry wine. It also has lots of nutty notes, especially walnuts, and plenty of spice. Because of this it works well with darker spirits- it can even stand up to slightly smoky Scotch in the Artist’s Special. It’s also great in sweeter, dessert style cocktails like the creamy Sherry Flip.
So know you know what to do with the dry sherries, what about the sweet? Can they also work in cocktails?
PEDRO XIMINEZ – These wines are delicious but so intense they can be hard to balance- I always recommend using less than you think to begin with. That said, their dried fruit, spice and chocolate notes pair perfectly with dark spirits. Try using it instead of sugar syrup in an Old Fashioned, and you’ll find it really brings out tropical fruit notes in the whiskey. Weirdly, I actually also enjoy a splash of this in a Bloody Mary as the sweetness balances out all the savoury flavours going on (but choose this or Manzanilla, not both!).
MOSCATEL - is similar, but brighter- think more golden raisins, candied citrus peel and flowers. Again, use it in the place of a sweetener- I find it goes really well alongside lighter rums.
CREAM SHERRIES – Your Grandma’s sherry actually comes in to its own in cocktails! As they are less viscous and intense than the other sweet sherries, they are more flexible. One of my favourites is the East India Negroni, which switches out gin for rum and vermouth for cream sherry- a rich and spicy take on the bitter classic, and it works really well in Manhattan variations (again, PX would be too much to use in the traditional Manhattan ratio).
Hopefully you can now feel confident grabbing a bottle of sherry and experimenting! Sherry – so now you know!