Sherry, the fortified wine made from white grapes that hails from Spain, has been experiencing quite a comeback recently. What used to be seen as a tired old drink consumed by your grandmother and her friends while in the midst of an epic game of bridge has reemerged as the digestif of choice among the hipster set. Artisanal Sherries now flood the U.S. market and entire bars have even been devoted to the libation, such as Mockingbird Hill in Washington DC.
With the Sherry crazy clearly in full swing, this means that eventually those clever mixologists were going to start reintroducing classic Sherry cocktails to the masses as well, and that they have. But lucky for you, you don’t need to know a secret number or find a hidden door to get into one of your town’s hip drink havens only to gain the privilege of spending fourteen dollars on one of these now trendy cocktails. Because unlike the huddled masses out there eagerly swarming to the next big thing, you knew Sherry was cool all along, and you also know how to make a drink or two. At least that’s what you’ll tell everyone…
The Up-to-Date
If you’re a fan of Manhattans this is a drink for you. Originally written down in Hugo Esslin’s 1917 cocktail book, Recipes For Mixed Drinks, the flavor of this cocktail completely fits with today’s tastes and it’s making a strong comeback.
Ingredients:
1.5 ounces Dry Sherry
1.5 ounces Rye Whiskey
1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass.
The Sherry Cobbler
An American invention, the Cobbler was invented sometime in the 1820s or ’30s but fell out of favor as we came into the twentieth century. Over the past few years, like all things, it’s had a revitalization. Here’s how to make it:
Ingredients:
4 ounces of Dry Sherry
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 orange slices
Seasonal berries
Mint
Muddle the orange slices and sugar in a cocktail shaker, add the Sherry and ice and shake to chill. Strain the drink into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the berries and mint. Serve with a straw.
The Bamboo
This drink was created in 1890 by Louis Eppinger, one of the fathers of the Japanese cocktail scene, at the Grand Hotel in Yokohama, Japan for his customers. The people who most often found themselves sitting on the other side of Eppinger’s bar were European tourists on their summer vacations, as well as international diplomats, so Eppinger created the drink to give his guests a sense of home.
Ingredients:
1.5 ounces Dry Sherry
1.5 ounces Dry Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain drink into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Sherry Cobbler Header Courtesy Of Keens Steakhouse
