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By Rebekah Peppler, The New York Times
Light, crisp, bright, yeasty, floral, savory, full-bodied, syrupy, sweet: Sherry’s spectrum of styles is wide and varied, translating to infinite adaptability in the world of cocktails.
“Sherry itself is already like a cocktail,” said Chantal Tseng, a bartender and sommelier based in Washington, D.C. “All the elements are there. You have the complexity, you have some fruit notes, you have bitter notes, you have mineral notes and sometimes sweet notes. But when you mix it and serve it over ice, it’s this refreshing, brilliant thing.”
Sherry’s role as a shortcut to complexity is especially evident in the sherry cobbler. Popular in the 19th century, it has a simple formula of sherry, sugar and citrus, a pre-Prohibition Era combination built for modern drinkers. Served over crushed ice and sipped through a straw, it’s impressive yet easy, low in alcohol content and infinitely adaptable.
Produced in Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María, the three towns that form southwestern Spain’s Marco de Jerez or Sherry Triangle, sherry, at its most basic, is a fortified wine. That means a neutral grain spirit, such as grape brandy, is added to it, stopping fermentation and increasing its alcohol content.
On the lightest, driest end of the sherry spectrum is fino sherry, which ages biologically, developing a protective layer of yeast, known as flor, on its surface. Manzanilla, a fino aged in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, features distinctive notes of salinity.
Next on the spectrum lies amontillado sherry, which also starts aging biologically, but, as the flor breaks up, the wine is exposed to air and begins to oxidize, giving it an amber color and nuttier, toffee-leaning flavor.
And so it goes down the rich, rounder and more full-bodied line through elegant palo cortado and deeply fragrant, exclusively oxidized oloroso. Naturally sweet sherries, such as Pedro Ximénez (known as PX sherry) and moscatel, are dried fruit-forward in flavor and plush in texture.
If you’re just starting out with cobblers, look to medium-bodied, slightly nutty, slightly sweet amontillado sherry. Combine it with simple syrup and citrus, and top it all with crushed ice and mint for a classic sherry cobbler. Then, “change it up, mix and match, choose your own adventure,” Tseng said.
Deploy a single style of sherry, combine different ones or augment with a higher-proof spirit as in the manzanilla and gin-laced Tuxedo Cobbler. Crown a finished cobbler with seasonal fruit, swap one citrus for another or use a different sweetener. Tseng often opts for a honey syrup, but simple syrup, agave or maple syrup each lend their distinct flavors to the final drink. Instead of water, Tseng sometimes uses chamomile, mint or rooibos tea to make a syrup. Or you can skip the sweetener altogether and use the sweeter-leaning Pedro Ximénez.
For those discouraged by visions of dusty bottles and stodgy drinkers, the sherry cobbler offers a highly drinkable entry point into the larger world of sherry.
“People are often confused about what sherry is,” Tseng said. “They have an idea in their head, and then they taste something like a really good cobbler, and they’re like ‘Why is this so good?’ They don’t realize that the adaptability of sherry is that magical.”
Classic Sherry Cobbler
By Rebekah Peppler
This cocktail’s combination of sherry, sugar and citrus is infinitely adaptable. Swap in a different sweetener. Use lemons or clementines or blood oranges instead of traditional orange slices. Add in seasonal fruit, say berries in summer, plums in autumn or jam any time of the year. Use different varieties of mint or another herb to garnish. Nuttier than fino or manzanilla, lighter and spicier than oloroso, amontillado sherry strikes the ideal middle ground in this drink. But you could also combine amontillado with another sherry — or tap in another variety altogether.
Yield: 1 drink
Ingredients
- 2 orange wheels, halved
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 3 ounces dry amontillado sherry
- Ice cubes
- Mint sprigs, for garnish
- Crushed ice, for serving (see Tip)
Preparation
1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the 3 half-wheels of orange (reserve the remaining half-wheel for garnish) and the simple syrup. Add the sherry and ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously.
2. Strain into chilled highball or Collins glass and top with enough crushed ice to mound above the rim. (You can also strain the cocktail a second time, if you like, to make sure there’s no pulp.) Garnish with the mint and the remaining orange half. Serve with a straw.
Tips: To crush ice without a blender: Put cubed ice in a clean canvas or plastic bag. Close tightly then, if using a plastic bag, wrap gently in a cloth napkin or tea towel. Place on a stable surface and use a rolling pin to crush the ice into small pieces. Use immediately.
Tuxedo Cobbler
By Rebekah Peppler
This modern take on the Sherry Cobbler — and nod to the classic Tuxedo and Tuxedo No. 2 cocktails — makes for a bright, refreshing drink that’s slightly higher in alcohol by volume (or ABV). The optional but highly recommended absinthe rinse lends a subtle yet grounding anise flavor to the drink. If you don’t have absinthe, use a splash of anise-forward pastis. To rinse, add the absinthe to the glass and swirl to coat; tip out the rest. A pinch of salt both aids in balancing the drink and highlights manzanilla sherry’s inherent salinity. If you don’t have manzanilla, use fino or, if you’re looking for a slightly richer drink, amontillado sherry.
Yield: 1 drink
Ingredients
- 1/4 ounce absinthe (optional)
- 6 thinly sliced lemon wheels
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
- 1 1/2 ounces gin
- 1 1/2 ounces manzanilla sherry
- 4 dashes orange bitters
- Ice cubes
- Crushed ice, for serving (see Tip)
Preparation
1. Chill a highball or Collins glass. Rinse the glass with absinthe, if using, tossing out any excess liquid.
2. In a mixing glass, muddle 4 of the lemon wheels with the simple syrup and salt. Add the gin, sherry, bitters and ice cubes and stir until chilled, about 15 seconds. Strain into the chilled glass and top with enough crushed ice to mound above the rim. Garnish with the remaining 3 lemon wheels. Serve with a straw.
Tips: To crush ice, put cubed ice in a clean canvas or plastic bag. Close tightly then, if using a plastic bag, wrap gently in a cloth napkin or tea towel. Place on a stable surface and use a rolling pin to crush the ice into small pieces. Use immediately.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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