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Under the Flor: Sherry’s silent comeback

A former star seems to start his next rise. MIXOLOGY takes a look at the Sherry, the white wine, as rich in history as it is in flavor, which has been experiencing something of a comeback in recent cocktail history.

 

Is it just some kind of patina, or has sherry grown a thick layer of dust? According to Reinhard Pohorec, Austrian wine and spirits expert and sherry educator extraordinaire, it’s like: “If you ask a generation X youngster about Sherry, he might come up with the stereotype of old grannies, slowly drifting into agony early afternoon, sipping on a fusty Cream-somewhat with enough sugar to compete with your diabetes.”

Ma Chérie

While the name Sherry evokes a certain connotation for many, few know all there is to know about the history of the Andalusian fortified white wine whose heritage dates back to as early as 1100 BCE when its simple red wine ancestor was enjoyed by the then ruling Roman empire. The region of Jerez was subsequently given its original name “Sherish,” by its Arab rulers.

But Sherry’s historical endurance has not always weighed in on its popularity behind the bar. According to experts like Torsten Spuhn of Modern Masters in Erfurt/Thuringia, Sherry has spent much of its modern history hiding in the shadows; bars housing it only carried selections of its lesser quality, dry or extra-dry Finos, served mostly as Apértifs, and often consumed by older generations.

Sherry’s big come-back

Spuhn attributes the recent move back to Sherry to the rediscovery of cocktail-bitters, classic cocktail recipes, and to a desire for the wine’s mature yet fruity properties. Pohorec shares these views explaining to MIXOLOGY that “bartenders are rediscovering the former star of the bar stock, old recipes, and the knowledge of their predecessors behind the stick.” Whatever the reasons, the wine certainly does seem to be enjoying something of a comeback. Pohorec and many others envision the modern day Sherry drinker as one “totally contrasting long overdue stereotypes and old school manor.

This new or re-found love for Sherry is probably to blame for the recent opening of Sherry bars in major cities around the world. Richard Bigg, founder and co-owner of Camino, Copa de Cava, and Bar Pepito, the first Sherry bar in London, brought his passion for Sherry to the UK after 25 years of travel through its country of origin. His venues attract a mix crowd of “those who are interested in wine and eager to explore the broad range of styles.”

Bigg tells MIXOLOGY he “first travelled to Spain in 1984, and gradually fell in love with the country, its food, wines, and people, as well as its beauty and diversity,” and urges others to visit the Jerez region. Bigg is one of many who seem to find the Sherry and its country of origin wonderfully inseparable.

Spanish themed Sherry-serving venues such as Kreuzberg’s Bar Raval and YoSoy in Mitte have started to pop-up in Berlin as well. YoSoy, a tapas themed Mitte bar/restaurant educates its patrons about tapas’ origin of Andalusia, where inseparable from Sherry, tapas acted as covers for the Sherry glasses, thereby sealing in aromas and sensations of the delicious beverage.

Recent years have also seen the inception of a “Sherry fest” in the US. Launched in 2012 in NYC, the event was created by wine critic and senior correspondent for Wine & Spirits, Peter Liem, and Rosemary Gray of NY’s Flatiron Wines and Spirits and includes tastings, seminars, and dinners. The festival also took place in both Portland, Oregon and Toronto in 2013 and was held in San Francisco in 2014.

Perfectly-suited for cocktails, old and new

Readers intrigued by Sherry’s long history are encouraged to experiment with recipes such as the “Adonis” cocktail which dates back to 1884 and is made with dry Sherry, sweet vermouth, and a dash of orange bitters, or the “National Guard 7th Regiment Punch” from 1862. The punch is made with sugar, lemon-juice, brandy, Sherry, and raspberry syrup, and is extraordinarily novel for its year of origin .

When it comes to using Sherry in cocktails, bartenders are not only re-visiting old recipes. As Phil Duff of raves to MIXOLOGY, “As a liquid [Sherry] is remarkable. It does everything that you would ever need, from dry to rich and aged and raisiny, it’s so essential in so many cocktails…” Torsten Spuhn shares his “Toledo Salamanca” cocktail recipe with MIXOLOGY. It is a Gin Mare, Créme de Figue, Créme de Cassis, Lustau East India Solera Sherry (old Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez), Creole bitters, and orange flower flavored Oolong Tea taste of heaven, garnished with an Orange zest peel, and one Shisho leaf.

The “Flor”

One of Sherry’s most distinctive aging processes involves a layer of yeast called “Flor” which forms on the top of the liquid and plays a large role in determining the Sherry’s qualities, imparting the Sherry with smell and taste. Constantly cycling through life, its old cells sink to the bottom of the barrel as new ones replace them. If the “Flor” in a three year old Fino (a dry and light variety) dies, it becomes a  much prized “Amontillado,” referred to by Edgar Allen Poe in The Cask of Amantillado. If the “Flor” dies before three years of aging, the Sherry can only be used in a blended variety. The “Oloroso” variety is fortified to “kill” the “Flor” and thus is in constant contact with air throughout its aging process.

Other main varieties of Sherry include: “Manzanilla,” a light “Fino” which hails from a specific region, “Palo Cortado” which develops like an Oloroso after its “Flor” departs, and “Jerez Duclé”, a sweeter Sherry, which is made from the Pedro Ximénez- or more commonly the Moscatel grape, acquiring their sweetness by being left out in the air after harvest.

Running the Scales

Perhaps the most beautiful component of the Sherry making process is also be to blame for people’s common miscalculation of the wine’s sapid tasty-ness. During a practice referred to as “running the scales,” wines are grouped together by age on different levels – the so-called Solera. The lowest level with the oldest wine butts, the next level up with ones slightly younger, the next level up slightly younger, etc. When it’s time to bottle, a small quantity of Sherry from the ground level butts are harvested from each individual barrel, to be replenished by the level above, which is replenished by the level above, and on, and on.

Because of this incredibly involved compounding process, Sherrys cannot proudly wear a single year on their labels, as fine wines do, possibly making them intimidating for wine-lovers. As Phillip Duff points out, “What the Sherry industry has failed to do is to properly position it as a wine.”

However, the cyclical nature of the Solera-technique can also be seen as a metaphor for the way in which many see Sherry continuing to reinvent itself, attracting new mixologists and imbibers alike, and becoming the focus of many new venues. Perhaps the many faces of Sherry shine brighter now than ever before.

Credits

Foto: Sherry via Shutterstock

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