Sherry is having a moment in cocktail bars across London, with bartenders crediting the fortified wine for transforming ordinary drinks into memorable ones.
Nate Brown, a veteran bartender, calls sherry his "secret ingredient". Abbie Davies, from the Vining Street Wine Club in Brixton, says it "adds a lot of flavour, salinity, umami and structure". Max Wolff at Nancy's in London Bridge believes sherry "can turn a good drink into a truly memorable one".
The wine originates in Andalusia and comes in several styles, each bringing different qualities to cocktails. Fino is bone-dry and pale. Amontillado is a long-aged fino with intense nuttiness. Oloroso is dark and pungent. Palo cortado tastes like a cross between amontillado and oloroso. Pedro ximénez (PX) is incredibly sweet, made from sun-dried grapes. Cream sherry blends dry oloroso with PX.
Bartenders are using sherry in diverse ways. It works in classic cocktails like martinis, appears in drinks like fino negronis, and can be served simply over ice. The range of styles means each variety plays a different role behind the bar, allowing mixologists to choose the right sherry for the flavour profile they want to achieve.