Sherry makes an appearance…

I decided to pick up a bottle of Sherry finally.  I’ve been tempted to buy a bottle of Sherry ever since I tried a “Jabberwock” at the St. Louis bar, Sanctuaria.  The “Jabberwock” was the first drink I had at this bar, and it’s made up of sherry, caperitif, and gin.  It was a fantastic drink.  Like vermouth, sherry is a fortified wine.  Sherry’s fortified with brandy, giving it a slightly caramely taste.  The kind of sherry I bought is a fino sherry, which is a light and dry sherry.  I feel like cocktails with sherry have a very delicate and light character.  I have to say, I’m not totally in love with sherry, but it’s definitely a nice change of pace.

Four of the five drinks listed below were ones I tried using my new bottle of sherry, and the fifth is just a classic cocktail (the Monkey Gland) that I wanted to try.  Three out of the four sherry drinks were quite good, with only one being a dud. *  That’s pretty good odds based upon the fact that there aren’t really that many drink recipes out there calling for sherry.  In addition, it’s really good odds considering the fact that the search for the drink recipes came after my buying the sherry.  Usually, if I find the drink recipe before buying a bottle of something new, the drink’s almost guaranteed to be good.  This is typically the case because the recipe tends to speak for itself.  The combination of ingredients sounds so good that I’m compelled to buy a new ingredient.  On the other hand, when an ingredient has piqued my interest first, and then I have to scrounge up recipes to use it in, often times it’s easier for me to fall short.

So here they are, a few sherry drinks, plus an old classic stand by…

“Seville Cocktail”

This drink was probably my favorite of all the sherry drinks I tried. It was really good and made me question my theory that I don’t care for drinks combining gin & orange juice.  I’m now open to the idea!  This was a really good drink because of all the extra ingredients in addition to the gin/orange combo… the lemon, the sherry and the sugar.  The sherry really adds a nice flavor and some substance.  I often think the gin/orange combo tastes hollow, but the sherry adds a worthy element, and it also cuts through and softens the intensity of the juices.  Very good drink!

1.5 oz. gin

1/2 oz. fino sherry

1/2 oz. orange juice

1/2 oz. lemon juice

2 t simple syrup

Shake well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

“Sevilla”

This was quite an elaborate drink for me to make.  (especially on a weeknight – ha! ha!)  I’ve never used ground cinnamon in a drink before, and I’ve never even tasted hot pepper jelly until this drink.  I found this drink in Dale DeGroff’s “The Essential Cocktail” book, and I have to say, it’s quite an interesting drink.  It’s a spicy drink, a quite spicy drink!  Overall, I like the idea of the drink.  However I would say that the texture of the ground cinnamon was a little off-putting.  It’s got such a dry texture, it kind of made me thirstier each time I’d take a drink.  I actually think it’d be a better drink without the ground cinnamon rim.  Also, I personally liked the spice of the hot pepper jelly, but that too could be removed based on personal preference or your mood at the time.  It’s great if you want a drink with some heat, which is definitely fun, but I think a drink with just the rum, sherry, orange and lime might be quite a good drink.  With the cinnamon and jelly, the drink resembles an actual meal (and that was DeGroff’s point, I think), but without the cinnamon, it’d be more “drink-like”.  Try it, and see for yourself!

1 oz. white rum

1/2 oz. fino sherry

3/4 oz. orange juice

1/4 oz. lime juice

1 t hot pepper jelly

ground cinnamon to rim the glass

1 flamed orange peel for garnish

Shake well and fine strain in to chilled cocktail glass.

(“The Essential Cocktail”)

“Poppy Variation”

This drink was the dud of the group.  It was OK, not terrible, but not great.  It’s like a slightly sweeter dry martini.

1.75 oz. gin

3/4 oz. dry sherry

1 dash orange bitters

1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

“Adonis Cocktail”

This was a very nice cocktail.  It’s silky & light.  It’s sweet, but also a bit deep & dry, with notes of caramel from the sherry.

2 oz. dry sherry

3/4 oz. sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

Stir well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

“Monkey Gland”

My original notes on this drink are pretty funny to read, because I started off not liking the drink much, but as I drank it, I liked it more and more.  I don’t know if that’s the best characteristic for a drink- to be bad at the beginning but good by the end, but who knows… it is what it is.  Here’s my actual notes, written as I drank the cocktail…

               1- I don’t know… the anise and OJ tastes a little medicinal.

               2- It’s OK, not great, not bad.

               3- It’s kind of a nice, fruity absinthe drink, which is a bit unusual.

               4- It’s kind of grown on me.

Ha ha! This drink got the best of me!  Hats off to it for that!

1.5 oz. gin

1 oz. orange juice

1/4 oz. grenadine

1 splash of absinthe

orange peel for garnish

Shake well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

* As I was writing this post, I actually remembered a 5th sherry drink I tried, which was terrible. It was such a dud, that I didn’t even want to write about it, so beware… BEWARE the “Quarter Deck”.  It was terrible!