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Master of Malt Blog

Tag: Sherry

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New Arrival of the Week: Tio Pepe Fino En Rama

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As we can’t visit Andalucia, we have the next best thing, a limited edition fino taken from Gonzalez Byass’s bodega in Jerez and bottled with no treatment whatsoever. In the…

As we can’t visit Andalucia, we have the next best thing, a limited edition fino taken from Gonzalez Byass’s bodega in Jerez and bottled with no treatment whatsoever. In the words of winemaker Antonio Flores, it’s “Jerez en una botella.”

Even for those who aren’t particularly into sherry, visiting a bodega when near Jerez is high on most tourist’s list. The traditional warehouses with their soaring roofs stacked with slowly-maturing butts of wine are known in Spanish as ‘catedrals’ and provide a similar respite from the summer heat. They don’t just look spectacular, the layout is designed to keep the sherry cool but humid so that the flor (protective layer of yeast) can grow on the surface. I was lucky enough to visit Gonzalez Byass in Jerez a few years ago in the company of head winemaker Antonio Flores. As we walked around he would dip his trusty venencia, the cup on the stick thing that you have to learn how to use if you want to be taken seriously in Jerez, into a barrel, and effortlessly pour fresh sherry from a height into glasses. The wine was fresh, alive with the taste of apples and almonds, and often with bits of yeast floating in it. 

Antonio Flores wielding his venencia like a pro

After this sensory experience, ordinary Tio Pepe seemed a bit humdrum. As the world’s bestselling fino, it’s blended to create a consistent product and filtered to ensure it’s absolutely stable and clear. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a delicious wine but it doesn’t quite capture the bodega magic. But you can buy a version that’s a close as possible to the straight from the barrel experience. It’s called Tio Pepe En Rama, and the latest limited edition batch from Gonzalez Byass has just arrived at Master of Malt. 

‘Rama’ literally means ‘branch’ or ‘on the vine’ which translates roughly as ‘in its natural state’. The first company to bottle an ‘En Rama’ sherry was Barbadillo in 1999. Gonzalez Byass launched its Tio Pepe En Rama in 2010. There’s no legal definition but they tend to be only very lightly filtered and are from a single cask or a blend of some of the best casks in the bodega. 

Back in 2010, though Flores and his team were not convinced En Rama would work. “We were nervous about bottling a sherry without any treatment. It seemed very risky,” he said when I saw him last year. Without the filtering, he was worried the wine might start to refer to the bottle. The first release said ‘drink within three months’ on the label, “like yoghurt,” he joked. Furthermore, would anyone buy it? They needn’t have worried, the first batch sold out very quickly and now every release is much anticipated. Furthermore, the wines remained stable, changing with time in bottle without deteriorating. It’s now become an annual thing, released every May with a new label each year.

Tio Pepe en rama is the next best thing to visiting Jerez

Like most sherry, Tio Pepe En Rama is a blend of vintages created using the solera system but as Flores only picks the best barrels (this year 69 casks from the Constancia and Rebollo bodegas), it is different every year. For example, the 2018 was extremely rich with butterscotch type notes like a Palo Cortado. In contrast, the 2020 is more lithe but intense with flavours of cooked apple and almonds. The back of the bottle will have the saca date, when it was taken out of the barrel.  

Flores commented: “This is one of the most spectacular editions of Tio Pepe En Rama that I have had the fortune to select. At the bodega we view the biological ageing of the sherries as our second terroir.  It is this second terroir that enables us to maximise the unique character of the albariza soil– a delicious chalkiness with almond and floral notes – resulting in a seductive cocktail of flavours.”

It’s not just Gonazlez Byass, all the sherry companies now release En Rama bottling and there’s always a sense of excitement about the year’s releases. Not only are these always interesting wines, but they provide something new for the sherry lover to try each year. Think of them as the equivalent of single cask whisky. Nothing tastes better drunk chilled on a hot summer’s day. Close your eyes, take a sip and you could be in Jerez.

Tasting note from the Chaps at Master of Malt:

Nose: Rich brown apples, layers of nuts, almonds and cobnuts, Marmite.

Palate: Full texture, creamy with a strong herbal quality, lots of almonds.

Finish: Refreshing and saline with lingering nuts. 

Tio Pepe En Rama is now available from Master of Malt.

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Cocktail of the Week: The Tuxedo

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Today we’re making the best-dressed cocktail in town: it’s a variation on the Martini made with gin and a brand of fino with a mission to make “sherry cool again”. …

Today we’re making the best-dressed cocktail in town: it’s a variation on the Martini made with gin and a brand of fino with a mission to make “sherry cool again”. 

There’s more than one way to make a Tuxedo. The cocktail is named after the Tuxedo Club, a swanky country club in upstate New York. And yes, it’s where the Americans get their name for the dinner jacket. What a place! The eponymous cocktail is a variation on the Martini. Flicking through the extensive MoM drinks book library, many recipes call for the addition of maraschino liqueur, absinthe or both. There’s not a sherry bottle in sight.

But in Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett from 1931, there’s something quite different, made with two parts gin to one part dry sherry with a dash of orange bitters. Which is what we’re going to make today. Using sherry instead of vermouth in a Martini isn’t so unusual. Bernard de Voto in his book The Hour describes similar cocktails: “These drinks are not Martinis, they are only understudies but they damn no souls.” 

Equipo Xeco (from left, PAF, BGE and AK)

At MoM, we’ve all over sherry in cocktails, so we’re going for the Waldorf take on the Tux. But which sherry to use? It has to be a fino, and we’re rather taken with a newish brand called Xeco. It was launched in 2017 by three magnificently-monickered ladies, Beanie Geraedts-Espey, Polly Aylwin-Foster and Alexa Keymer. The three met in 2013 in Hong Kong and bonded over a shared love of Andalucia’s finest. All had studied sherry for WSET and Geraedts-Espey’s first job was doing marketing for Gonzalez-Byass. So, they knew their stuff.

They set about trying to convert their friends but encountered a number of obstacles, not least sherry’s vicars and aunts image. So began what they call project “let’s make sherry cool again” which became Xeco. The word is derived from Secco, meaning dry, and it’s pronounced something like Zecco. There are currently two wines in the range both bone dry: a fino with the emphasis on the fruit, and a rich nutty amontillado. They don’t make their own wines and instead source them from Bodega Diez Merito in Jerez.

The first thing you notice about Xeco is that the bottles don’t look like traditional sherry bottles. The shape is more like something that might hold a trendy new vodka and there are no pictures of alluring gyspy ladies on the labels as with some traditional brands. Instead, they have playful designs inspired by Anglo-Spanish history. The fino features Alfonso X of Spain and Henry III of England who concluded a treaty where the English got sherry and the Spanish wool. We know which we’d prefer. 

El Tuxedo!

Both Xecos are excellent drunk in the traditional manner, cold out of a copita, but the website is full of more different ways to serve these most versatile of wines. Which brings us back to the Tuxedo. As a fino is much drier than even a French dry vermouth, with almost zero grams of sugar, you need to use more to temper the gin. To compliment the fruitiness of the fino we’re using Foxhole Gin made with leftover grapes from making English wine. The bitters are optional, but we think one dash really brings out the citrus notes in the sherry.

Right, on with the old DJ, and let’s get stirring:

Ingredients:

50ml Foxhole London Dry Gin
25ml Xeco Fino
1 dash Fee Brothers Orange Bitters (optional)

Add all the ingredients to an ice-filled shaker, stir well and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a strip of lemon peel, or an olive stuffed with an almond. 

 

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Drink books of the year 2019

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Whether you’re a wine buff, a whisky aficionado or a lager lout, this year’s crop of drink books has something for everyone. We pick our favourites to curl up by…

Whether you’re a wine buff, a whisky aficionado or a lager lout, this year’s crop of drink books has something for everyone. We pick our favourites to curl up by the fire with this Christmas. 

Well, it’s been a bumper year for drink books. There’s new offerings from old pros like Jancis Robinson and Tristan Stephenson, as well as debuts from Felix Nash and Eddie Ludlow. In fact, it was such a good year that we had trouble narrowing the list down so apologies if your favourite is missing. 

All of them will make great gifts for the drink lover in your life. And we can’t think of a better way to spend the holidays than with a roaring fire, a dram/ glass/ pint of something delicious and one of these books, and that includes watching Casablanca on Christmas Day with a belly full of Port and Stilton. 

A Brief History of Lager – Mark Dredge

Lager is so ubiquitous, it’s the beer the world drinks, that it’s hard to imagine how 200 years ago it was a Bavarian speciality. At that time, beer in the rest of Europe was essentially ale. But slowly lager spread and along the way mutated from a sweet, brown beer to the crisp golden brew we know today. It’s a great story told with a real sense of fun by award-winning beer writer and TV regular Mark Dredge. 

Sample line: “Lederer kept contact with Sedlmayr and Dreher, and there’s a wonderful photo taken in 1939 of the three of them all wearing top hats and overcoats, each with a thick moustache, and all holding hands.”

The Curious Bartender’s Whiskey Road Trip – Tristan Stephenson

Tristan Stephenson aka the Curious Bartender is the author of many excellent cocktails books. In this latest outing, he takes a journey across America sampling whiskeys from 44 distilleries both large and small including some real MoM favourites like Balcones 44, St George, and Michter’s –  nice work if you can get it.

Sample line: “Tuthilltown is home to a huge cat call Bourbon (there another cat called Rye that we didn’t get to meet.”

Fine Cider – Felix Nash 

You probably haven’t realised it yet but we are living through a golden age of cider. It hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet, but all over England, Wales and the cider-producing world (which is much bigger than you think), producers are waking up to the potential of apple-based goodness. Felix Nash, a cider merchant, has written a heartfelt, in-depth hymn to his favourite fruit and drink.

Sample line: “I wouldn’t be able to tell you about all the apples used to make cider or the pears used to make perry, and no one could. It’s not simply that so many varieties exist in the world, but that they can very localised”.

Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! – Ben Howkins

We’ve written a fair bit on the blog about how much we like sherry, so this was a book after our own hearts. Written by a man with more experience in the wine trade that he would like to admit, this is a love letter to one of the world’s great wines. Reading this, you can almost smell the bodegas of Jerez. Warning, it’s almost impossible to read this book without developing a serious sherry habit. 

Sample line: “Olorosos are the wines that will emulate rugby players, rather than ballet dancers.”

Spirited: How to create easy, fun drinks at home – Signe Johansen

You might know Johansen (the lady in the header) as Scandilicious, evangelist for all things Scandinavian and delicious. Originally from Norway, now living in London, she’s just as good on drinks as food. This book makes a great introduction to cocktails, tips for non-alcoholic drinks and all round guide to stress free non-nerdy entertaining. 

Sample line: “Life is too short to worry about what anoraks and bores think so now I happily enjoy whichever drinks I’m in the mood for.”

The Whisky Dictionary – Ian Wisniewski

Someone who is certainly a bit of an anorak but never a bore is Ian Wisniewski. He’s the one on distillery tours who will always be asking more questions than anyone else. We know as we’ve been round a few with him and we always learn a lot. This book, which we have already found an invaluable reference guide, is a testament to that insatiable curiosity. 

Sample line: “Do enzymes ever get the applause they deserve? Rarely. If ever. It’s time to make up for that with a standing ovation.”

Whisky Tasting Course  – Eddie Ludlow

Like many of the best people in the drinks business, Ludlow began his career at Oddbins. Since then he’s become an expert at opening up the often confusing world of whisky. In this book, Ludlow breaks it down into easily digestible segments, explains why whiskies taste as they do, and talks the reader through the most common styles of whisky such as single pot still Irish, small batch bourbon and Islay single malt. Before you know it, you’ll be saying “bonfires on the beach” or muttering “mmm, Jamaica cake” like an old pro.

Sample line: “Your mouth and tongue are actually quite inefficient at detecting all but the most basic flavours.”

The World of Whisky – Neil Ridley, Gavin D. Smith and David Wishart

Lavishly-produced guide to the every-expanding world of whisky by three of the best writers in the business. And you do really need three to cover what is now such an enormous topic. Inevitably the majority of the book is on Scotland with a page devoted to each malt distillery, but the Irish, US and Japan sections are also impressive.

Sample line: “Would even the most discerning of palate be able to detect a differences made using barley grown in Mr McTavish’s bottom field and the one, over yonder hill, behind the tree and the babbling burn?”

The World Atlas of Gin – Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley

Another book part-written by Neil Ridley! How does it do it? We suspect that he has actually cloned himself to spread the workload. There’s a lot of gin out there and it’s expanding all the time, meaning that this book can only be a snapshot of what’s available but you know with these two that everything in here is going to be worth drinking. Also extra points for not being afraid to put in the big names, like Beefeater, rather than going for hipster obscurity points.

Sample line: “France has embraced the gin revolution with a charismatic style and charm of its own.”

The World Atlas of Wine – Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson

This is the 8th edition of an all time classic book, first published in the 1970s and updated every few years. Originally just written by Johnson, Robinson joined the team in 2003. It’s hard to think of a better looking book with its lavish photos and intricate maps of the world’s greatest wine regions. The words are pretty nifty too as you’d expect from (probably) the world’s top two wine writers. 

Sample line: “For centuries, Hungary has had the most distinctive food and wine culture, the most varied grape varieties, and the most refined wine laws and customs of any country east of Germany.”

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Sherry, the ultimate food wine

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Sherry has long been the wallflower of the wine list, but it’s time to give the tipple the recognition it deserves. To toast Sherry Week, we’ve assembled a handy little…

Sherry has long been the wallflower of the wine list, but it’s time to give the tipple the recognition it deserves. To toast Sherry Week, we’ve assembled a handy little guide to pairing Southern Spain’s finest with your favourite dish…

“Sherry is a drink for every dish, every culture, every hour – whether you’re drinking it with sushi at dinner time in Japan, with almonds before lunch in Spain, in an evening cocktail in a New York bar, or poured over ice-cream for pudding in England,” writes the Sherry Wines Council. “Whatever you’re eating, there will be a type of sherry to match.”

So why aren’t more of us partial to a glass these days? Well, partly because today’s dishes are so much more creative and their flavours far more complex, reckons Adrian Coppelstone, manager at The Tapas Room in Tooting. “Thirty to 40 years ago, you’d have a classic dish and there would be a wine that goes with that, job done,” he explains. “But tastes have changed and cookery methods are so much more technical now than they used to be.”

Bodegas Estevez

One of these barrels contains The Ark of the Covenant

Rather than adopting an all-or-nothing approach by pairing with, say, a certain meat or a particular fish, Coppelstone has a nifty trick that can be used to pair any wine with your dish du jour: identify the ‘base note’ in your tipple of choice and pair that with the food. “Whenever I go to a restaurant – much to the irritation of the people I’m with – the first thing I do is pick up the wine list and decide what I want to drink,” he explains. “I don’t pick up the menu and decide what I’m going to eat; I do it in reverse. And I’m looking for those base notes.”

The base note of a meal doesn’t necessarily refer to the overarching flavour or ingredient. Despite what supermarket signposting will have you believe, it’s a little more complicated than that. “A white wine that ‘goes well with chicken or fish’ is such a lazy description,” he says. “There’s so much going on in that bottle – it might actually go with one specific type of fish or one specific type of vegetable, so this is the kind of base flavour that I would use to marry it up.” 

Coppelstone uses foie gras as an example. “The base note is the fat, the oiliness,” he explains. “Therefore, rather than go for a classic Sauternes which is what the old boys say should go with it, I look for that note in the wine, so I’d go for something like an aged German Riesling.” Sherry is, he admits, a little trickier to pair than your average bottle of white, because the base note can be masked by the fortifying alcohol, the wood influence of the cask and the age of the liquid, but it’s not all bad news. “The brilliant thing is we now have so many more sherry houses available to us than we did, say, 10 or 15 years ago,” he continues, “so we really can mix and match”. 

Here, we run through three everyday sherry styles and what to drink them with…

Sherry flor

That’s flor, a layer of yeast that protects fino sherry from oxygen

Fino (eg. Tio Pepe Fino En Rama)

A fino tends to be a young wine (average is usually between four and seven years) that develops a layer of yeast on the top known as flor. The flor if looked after can last for up to about 15 years meaning that there are some older finos available. The wine is fortified to 15% ABV, the perfect level for development of the yeast that protects the wine from oxidation and consumes glycerol, alcohol and any residual sugar in the wine. This gives fino a crispness and lightness that belies its high alcohol and low acidity, making it the ideal pairing for sea bass and anchovies, says Coppelstone.

Amontillado (eg. Lustau Los Arcos)

Amontillado is essentially a fino that has been aged further, but without the flor. This can be because the flor dies naturally or when more grape spirit is added. “This is one of the most changeable sherries in terms of style and flavour, depending on who makes it,” says Coppelstone. “When you’re pairing sherry with spicy food, amontillado is the answer.” Pick an Amontillado at the lower end of the acidity spectrum, and opt for curry spice, rather than ‘chili’ hot spice, so the flavour “doesn’t bounce off the wine, but instead blends with the sharp, nutty notes of the sherry”, he says.

Oloroso  (eg. Colosia Oloroso)

Oloroso is a deliberately oxidised sherry, so the wine is much heavier to start with, says Coppelstone. It’s fortified up to around 20% depending on the producer – far too strong for flor to grow. Classically olorosos are fully dry (though you can buy sweetened ones) but because there is nothing feeding on the glycerol (part of what gives a wine body) olosoros tend to taste a little bit sweeter though, with notes of caramel, nuts, leather and wood. Try pairing with hard cheeses “that have a little bit of spice in there”, says Coppelstone, “rather than Camembert or potent cheese like Bourgogne – they’ll bounce off each other in your mouth”.

 

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Cocktail of the Week: The Adonis

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This week we’re tapping into the collective cocktail brain of two bartending brothers, Joe and Daniel Schofield, and harnessing the awesome power of sherry to create the Adonis. As one…

This week we’re tapping into the collective cocktail brain of two bartending brothers, Joe and Daniel Schofield, and harnessing the awesome power of sherry to create the Adonis.

As one of our columnists noted, sherry is a very underrated ingredient. Recently I attended the launch of a very special whisky that was aged in sherry solera casks. Before we tried the whisky, we drank some sherry from the same solera. I won’t say the sherry was better but it was at least as interesting, intense and complex as the whisky. The sherry cost about £75 a bottle, the whisky £4,000. Bananas!

Sherry contains many of the flavours, like brown sugar, hazelnut and butterscotch, of aged brown spirits at a much lower ABV, perfect if you’re cutting back or just fancy a bit of a session. This week’s cocktail, the Adonis, is very like a Palmetto but made with sherry instead of rum. The recipe comes from a rather swanky book called Schofield’s Fine and Classic Cocktails that landed at MoM towers last week. 

Schofield cocktail book

It’s written by two brothers from Manchester, Joe and Daniel Schofield. Between them, they have won many many awards, worked in cocktail bars all over the world, including the American Bar at the Savoy, and collaborated with another pair of brothers, Asterley Bros, on a vermouth. Now, all that learning and experience can be found in one place. The book contains advice on making cocktails as well as classic and modern recipes. 

The Adonis is named not after the figure from Greek mythology nor the Labour peer and educational reformer, Lord Adonis, but after a musical. Adonis was a long-running Broadway show in the late 19th century. It’s part of the long line of cocktails named after shows like the Rob Roy, and the Pink Lady. Sadly this habit of naming cocktails after musicals seems to have died out. One can almost imagine a Miss Saigon or an Oliver! though I wouldn’t fancy a Les Miserables.

Traditionally the Adonis is made with fino sherry but the Schofield brothers have suggested using an oloroso instead to make it richer. The Alfonso from Gonzalez Byass offers amazing intensity for the money. The Schofields recommend their collaborative vermouth (well, they would, wouldn’t them) but I have defied them and kept it 100% Jerez with the Lustau Vermut Rojo. The other non-trad element is sugar syrup; the brothers write: “sugar is a great flavour carrier and works well here, enhancing the relatively subtle sherry and vermouth. You won’t find this extra touch of sweetness in traditional versions of the drink, but we like how it underscores all the flavour notes”.

The Adonis, not as strong as you’d expect from the name

The result is something with all the depth of flavour of a Manhattan or Rob Roy, but with much less alcohol and it’s cheaper too. Your doctor and bank manager will thank the Schofields

Right, let’s make an Adonis. 

30ml Gonzalez Byass Alfonso Oloroso Seco
30ml Lustau Vermut Rojo
2 dashes of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
½ teaspoon of sugar syrup

Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass or shaker with ice, and give it a good stir. Strain into a coupette and garnish with an orange coin.

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New Arrival of the Week: The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1

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Our New Arrival of the Week is the first in a series of releases, all of which are set to be heavily influenced by sherry casks. Meet The Lakes Whiskymaker’s…

Our New Arrival of the Week is the first in a series of releases, all of which are set to be heavily influenced by sherry casks. Meet The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1!

When we spoke with Dhavall Gandhi, whisky-maker-in-chief at The Lakes Distillery, back in May 2018, he explained that the distillery’s “main flagship is still a little way away but we are coming out with different styles, and these are much more intense in character and very, very sherry-orientated. So if you like sherry bombs you are going to like the initial releases of Lakes Distillery!”

Fast forward to September 2019, and the Cumbria-based distillery has launched the expression Gandhi teased us about: The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1. Unlike previous whiskies from the National Park’s first legal spirits producer, The ONE and Steel Bonnets, this is a single malt and it’s also the first whisky to form part of a range. The Whiskymaker’s Reserve is tipped to showcase the sherry-led house style defined by Gandhi, or the “artistic exploration of maturation, blending and flavour evolution”, as it was put in the press release.

Happily, the Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1 does not fail to live up to the billing Gandhi gave it last year. It was matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry and red wine casks, comprising of American, Spanish and French oak, and to taste it has all the hallmarks of a sherry bomb (more on that later). Such distinctive styles of cask and the varying breeds of oak point to a distillery flexing its maturation muscles, as promised. The Lakes Distillery also made it known in the press materials that it has matured its spirits in PX, cream and fino sherry casks, from 500-litre butts to 205-litre hogsheads, and in our interview, Gandhi spoke of using orange wine casks from Andalusia, Spain and innovating with various types of bourbon casks too.

Lakes Whiskymaker's Reserve No.1

The distillery’s first single malt was made to showcase the sherry-led house style.

Gandhi’s decision to join The Lakes Distillery was partly for the opportunity to define the house style of a new distillery. The former Macallan-man (a role which presumably influenced his love for maturing whisky in sherry-casks) seems to be wasting no time in making his mark. A quote from Nigel Mills, co-founder of The Lakes Distillery, revealed the extent of his creative licence: “Unusually, Dhavall is actively involved at every stage of the process. From the choice of barley to the intricacy of bespoke cask production and selection, and knowing each cask intimately as it matures. It’s holistic whisky-making”.

The name ‘Whiskymaker’s Reserve’ appears to be quite apt, then. What we’re tasting here is not only a presentation of the character of the Lakes Distillery’s or its already impressive cask selection but something of a personal statement from the whisky maker. The question is, what does The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1 say about Gandhi?

Firstly, his desire to experiment with various styles of casks suggests that he finds the fact that English whisky doesn’t have quite the historical precedent or legislative structure of Scotch to be liberating. “Creating a new whisky requires a framework of sorts, but there must be room within it to play, to follow gut feeling and instinct,” says Gandhi. “At The Lakes, we respect the conventions of Scotch whisky heritage but are open to a world of other influences, interpreting what we believe is right to make The Lakes Single Malt one of the finest whiskies in the world.”

Lakes Whiskymaker's Reserve No.1

The Lakes Distillery is one of the leading producers of English whisky.

The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1 also demonstrates that Gandhi is a patient and methodical worker. This bottling wasn’t exactly rushed out of the door (we’ve been waiting over a year here Dhavall, mate). Furthermore, the combination of two distinctive cask types like this could have given Gandhi an expensive and complex self-inflicted problem. Nobody wants barrel upon barrel of unbalanced, unusable spirit. Bottling the expression without chill-filtration or any additional colouring at cask strength 60.6% ABV also gives him nowhere to hide.

For Gandhi, however, this very much seems to be the point. “We don’t believe in taking the easy option if there’s another way to add a new dimension of flavour – for the Lakes, that means not only creating flavour in the new make spirit but also opening up more flavour possibilities through the entire whisky-making process,” he says. This means we can expect more intriguing bottlings in the future, folks.

For now, we get to enjoy The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1. So, what do we make of it? Well, we like it and so will anyone else who loves a heavily-sherried whisky. It’s sweet, spicy, nutty and just a little bit funky. Both casks rush to centre stage on both the nose and palate, but both are impressively balanced and instead of competing with each other, the profile is actually quite complementary. Plus the distillery character manages to avoid being drowned in this cask-forward fun. The first batch is limited to 5,922 bottles, which is a shame, and the price tag might be a touch high for a no-age-statement bottling for some people’s taste, but overall it’s fair to we’re fans, and we’re very excited to see what’s next.

The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1:

Nose: Black wine gums, marmalade and resinous sherried funk initially, with winter spice and rich caramel. There’s nutty malted barley and sugared almonds underneath, as well as a hint of Crunchie chocolate bar.

Palate: A rich, yet refined palate leads with succulent blackcurrants, dried orange peel and vanilla fudge, with wine-stained oak, bitter herbs and a touch of flint in support.

Finish: Woody tannins sparkle into life among dried fruit, apples and dark chocolate.

Overall: Hugely satisfying, it’s a funky, fruity and undoubtedly sherry-tastic dram.

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Top picks for sherried whisky fans

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Here’s a round-up of some our favourite sherry-matured expressions, either aged or finished in casks which previously held the delightful Spanish fortified wine. It’s hard to resist a good sherry…

Here’s a round-up of some our favourite sherry-matured expressions, either aged or finished in casks which previously held the delightful Spanish fortified wine.

It’s hard to resist a good sherry bomb. The indulgent, fruity and rich drams are a perfect reminder as to why sherry casks have played a massive part in the Scottish whisky industry for well over 200 years. The style is very popular here at MoM Towers and we know there are many of you booze lovers out there who are equally partial to the sweet, spice and everything nice profile of a well-sherried spirit, particularly as we approach autumn. That’s why we’ve gathered quite the selection of sublime sherried treats here for you to enjoy, from peated Scotch, American rye whiskey and even a Venezuelan rum…

Redbreast 12 Year Old

A classic single pot still Irish whiskey, Redbreast 12 Year Old was made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, triple distilled and matured in a combination of bourbon seasoned American oak barrels and Oloroso sherry seasoned Spanish oak butts. It can’t stop winning awards and stealing our hearts.

What does it taste like?:

Nutty, rich and oily, with notes of citrus peels, ginger, linseed, melon, marzipan, dried fruits, custard and a hint of Sherry.

Bowmore 15 Year Old

For those who desire a rich and complex sherried single malt Scotch whisky with a hearty helping of peat shouldn’t look past Bowmore 15 Year Old. It was matured first in bourbon barrels before it spent its final three years spent in Oloroso sherry casks.

What does it taste like?:

Dark and punchy, with Corinth raisins, baking spices, mochaccino, sweet dates, woody, pine oil, creamy toffee and malt.

Scallywag

From the fantastic Douglas Laing, this blended malt was made entirely from Speyside whiskies, including Mortlach, Macallan and Glenrothes, with spirit matured in Spanish sherry butts and bourbon casks. It was bottled without chill-filtration or additional colouring at 46% ABV.

What does it taste like?:

Icing sugar, sultanas, candied ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, sherry, nutmeg and cereal.

James E. Pepper 3 Year Old – Oloroso Cask Finish (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

Something a bit different, a young rye whiskey from James E. Pepper that was independently bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Three different batches were released in the series with each whiskey finished in different types of cask, one an Ale Cask, one Pedro Ximénez and this expression was finished in Oloroso casks. James E. Pepper owner Amir Peay also features on the label, which is pretty neat.

What does it taste like?:

Red cola cubes, sticky toffee pudding made with dates, blood orange rind, creamy vanilla, dusty oak spice, rich dark chocolate, chewy rye notes, red fruit and aromatic warmth from clove and cinnamon.

Glenfarclas 105

Anybody who enjoys Scotch whisky will know that you can always rely on Glenfarclas for a delightfully sherried dram. From one of Scotland’s few family-run distilleries, Glenfarclas 105 was bottled at a cask strength 60% ABV after it was matured for 8-10 years in a combination of both ex-sherry and ex-bourbon barrels. It’s superb value for money and captures everything great about Glenfarclas.

What does it taste like?:

Honey on toast, a touch of smoky coffee, almond, praline, hazelnut, dried peels, Armagnac, a hint of rancio and spicy and peppery oak.

Smögen 5 Year Old 2013 Sherry Project 2:2

We do really enjoy Swedish single malts from the Smögen distillery, and the expressions from the Sherry Project series are no exception. This bottling is Sherry Project 2:2, which was matured in first-fill sherry quarter casks, which are smaller than your run-of-the-mill casks, which allows for more surface area for interaction between the wood and whisky.

What does it taste like?:

Honey-glazed ham, dark chocolate truffle, malt loaf, Sherried sweetness, meaty peat, fudge dotted with raisins, burnt ends and a hint of orange oil freshness.

Mortlach 20 Year Old

The elder statesman of the Mortlach range, Mortlach 20 Year Old is an elegant presentation of what The Beast of Dufftown is all about. The sherry casks this beauty was matured in offers the perfect balance the robust, bold and uncompromising character of the whisky. This single malt is dubbed ‘Cowie’s Blue Seal’ in tribute to one of the original Mortlach bottlings dating back to 1909.

What does it taste like?:

Roast chestnuts, sweet tobacco, dense chocolate, meaty malt, clove, brandy butter, chewy dates, orange peel, mature oak, Christmas spice, cooked summer berries and red berry richness.

Diplomático Single Vintage 2005

A bit of a curveball to end our round-up, we’ve got a sherry-tastic rum. This expression of Diplomático Single Vintage was distilled from the harvest from 2005 before it was aged in bourbon barrels for about 12 years which was blended by the cellar master and then finished in old oloroso sherry casks for a year.

What does it taste like?:

Roasted orchard fruit, soft oak, strawberry and balsamic, espresso, cassia and star anise.

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Cocktail of the Week: the Sherry Cobbler

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This week we’re going way back, we’re talking old school, with a drink that makes an Old Fashioned look positively modern: it’s the Sherry Cobbler! Earlier this month, Nate Brown…

This week we’re going way back, we’re talking old school, with a drink that makes an Old Fashioned look positively modern: it’s the Sherry Cobbler!

Earlier this month, Nate Brown told us that sherry was a bartender’s secret weapon, adding complexity and seasoning to cocktails. But what about if you use sherry as the main ingredient? Before the word cocktail was even invented, people on both sides of the Atlantic were making mixed drinks out of fortified wine.

Such drinks would have been familiar to Shakespeare. Falstaff calls for a sort of sherry cocktail in The Merry Wives of Windsor: “Go fetch me a quart of sack (sherry); put a toast in’t.” The Elizabethans would have drunk much of their sherry laced with sugar, spices and, er, toast. It was a good way of disguising the poor quality of the wine. They would also have served these drinks hot to create a sort of mulled sherry.

What the Americans brought to the party was ice. The Cobbler unites a traditional English way of serving sherry with the American love of cold drinks. It’s just sherry with sugar and served with crushed ice and fruit. Long before freezers were invented, Americans would harvest huge blocks of ice in the winter months from the Great Lakes and keep it in special insulated chests so they could have cold drinks throughout the winter. An article in 1838 from a New York newspaper said that an ice box “is now considered as much an article of necessity as a carpet or dining table.”

Charles Dickens picked up the taste for chilled drinks on his American reading tours. He liked the Sherry Cobbler so much that in his novel Martin Chuzzlewit, the eponymous hero refers to it as a “wonderful invention.” Dickens didn’t just limit himself to Cobblers. Apparently, on the gruelling 1867 tour of America, he took most of his nutrition from sherry flips: made with a mixture of sherry, eggs, sugar and nutmeg.

sherry cobbler

Sherry cobbler, don’t forget the garnish

While the Flip requires a bit of skill, the Cobbler could not be simpler. If you don’t have an ice crusher, just bash some ice cubes in a bag with a rolling pin. I would recommend using a reasonable quality amontillado sherry, you want that nutty taste to come through, though don’t use anything too pricey. The González Byass Viña AB Amontillado Seco fits the bill perfectly. You could also use an oloroso, or a sweetened sherry like Harvey’s Bristol Cream in which case cut back on the sugar. But you don’t have to limit yourself to sherry: there are all kinds of other cobbles: Champagne, Port, claret and even Sauternes. Finally don’t stint on the garnish: orange and lemon slices are essential, as is mint, but you could also sling in a strawberry or maraschino cherry. Think of the Cobbler as a distant ancestor of Pimm’s. It’s the perfect drink for a hot lazy summer’s day. 

150 ml González Byass Viña AB
2 teaspoons of sugar syrup
Dash of Angostura Orange Bitters
Orange and lemon slices
Mint to garnish 

In a highball glass (or you can use a Hurricane, Sling or Old Fashioned glass), add the sherry and the sugar syrup. Stir and taste, you might want to add more sweetness. Fill up with crushed ice, add a dash of bitters and stir. Garnish with a lemon and an orange slice, and a sprig of mint.

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Sherry – the bartender’s secret weapon

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Sherry shouldn’t be sitting at the back of the cupboard gathering dust. From sweet PX to bone dry fino, sherry’s incredible variety makes it a great friend when mixing drinks,…

Sherry shouldn’t be sitting at the back of the cupboard gathering dust. From sweet PX to bone dry fino, sherry’s incredible variety makes it a great friend when mixing drinks, says bartender Nate Brown. And don’t turn your nose up at Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

I think it fair to say that Mummy Brown had a few of-the-moment tastes: she dressed me in red corduroys and a knitted green jumper, (which when matched with my hair made me look like a 3ft broken traffic light). She married my Dad when he had a mullet. She made a mean pasta salad: tinned sweetcorn, salad cream and all. Her favourite dessert was pavlova. And, most worryingly of all, her Sunday afternoon staple was a glass of Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

She made me pour it for her every week as she cooked the customary roast dinner. Naturally, it wasn’t long before I indulged in a sneaky taste. It was somehow both syrupy and sharp, bitter and sweet. It burned my throat despite it’s modest ABV. I hated it and could not for the life of me understand why she chose to drink it. Although, as this habit was partaken shortly after enduring a Church sermon, I assumed it was some sort of penance. The road to perdition it seemed, was drenched in Harvey’s Bristol Cream.

Nate Brown

Nate Brown, pouring vermouth, thinking about sherry

Fast forward two decades and what was my attitude then seems to be the general consumer attitude now. Mention the word ‘sherry’ to guests in a bar and you’ll likely garner little more than a smirk and a comment about diabetes.  Even the Spanish shun it.

How embarrassingly wrong we all are. Fools, the lot of us.

Is there a booze product out there with a worse, less deserved reputation? Not on your nelly. Even the worst regarded consumables have a serve that lifts them from the depths of disgrace. Tequila? Sure, mass market brands are pretty much widely regarded as nasty. But even cheap Tequila has the Margarita escape act. Absinthe? Still has the association with the Bohemians and mad artists. Sherry’s equivalent doesn’t extend further than lobbing it in a trifle. Ouch.

And yet, I’d argue there isn’t a category on the market better suited to current trends and tastes. Its low ABV backbone, crisp, unapologetic flavours, the variety of styles and expressions (Lustau alone has over 40), and the smaller, friendlier bottle sizes. Sherry is the complete package. You can keep your bitters, this is my bartender’s ketchup.

Take the rising low-ABV zeitgeist. Two years ago if you asked for a Bamboo cocktail you’d have the bartender sneaking off to google it. Today, it’s a staple on the menu of the pioneering Mint Gun Club and ordering one across town has become something of a bartender’s handshake. Simply mix one part dry vermouth with one part dry sherry. Serve stirred down, or over ice. Add orange bitters if you really must, but none in mine thanks. The base provided by the sherry gives license for the aromatics of the vermouth to sing. Prebottle the serve if you like and take it to the park. Just remember, the fresher the better.

Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana

Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana, makers of fine manzanilla

Remember Pedrino, those fino and tonic RTDs (ready to drinks)? Ahead of their time. Fresh fino and decent tonic is as good as any G&T I’ve ever had. But a word of advice: if the dry sherry in the bar fridge (or worse bar shelf) has been sat there for longer than a month and no longer excites the sides of your tongue, throw it away (or in a trifle?). It’s not expensive, anyway.

Not in the mood for a refreshing serve? Take a trip over to the other end of the dry sherry spectrum. Guests are moving further and further away from the dreaded sugary profiles whilst still loving the darker end of drinking. We are seeing low sugar versions of everything, none of which quite fills the void the sweetness has left behind in our cocktails. In steps oloroso with its ‘hold my beer’ attitude. The oxidative ageing has allowed sweet notes to perpetuate without any of the sugar remaining. Look at the descriptors used: walnut, caramel, cocoa nibs, rich orange, this is the equivalent of fat free chocolate cake that actually tastes delicious. How is this not a game changer?

Add a splash of oloroso to your stirred down and brown recipes. 15ml will give your Rum Old Fashioneds dryness and depth. 5ml in a Manhattan will clean up the otherwise cloying finish. Heck, even bung it in a Highball for savoury accents.  

As for PX, the raisiny plump and jolly cousin? It isn’t just for Christmas. Some of these can be over 40% residual sugar, making it pretty much a sugar syrup when used correctly (read sparingly). Stick it in a dash bottle and add a few drops to make a richer Whisky Mac, or Rob Roy. In fact put it in nearly everything richer, I don’t care, just don’t be embarrassed to love it.

Manhattan

I said sherry, not cherry! A drop of oloroso will take your Manhattan to the next level

But best of all is the Martini. Taken more as a style than a recipe, the oh-so-cool King of Cocktails can be opened up to an endless catalogue of variations. Which is appropriate given that gin is no longer a singular profile. Forget the wet or dry, olive or zest approach. Instead, try three parts dry gin to one part fino or manzanilla sherry. Keep the gin classic and green, like Plymouth. Try it before you garnish it. You’ll probably end up going without the fruit. The saline, umami sherry will cleanse your Martini adding more structure and bite than even a fresh vermouth ever could. This is how Martinis are meant to be.

And as for Harvey’s Bristol Cream? That lonely, dusty, ocean blue bottle in the back of the drinks cabinet? It is essentially a blend of all the types of sherry that a bodega produces. Think of it less of slop bucket and more of a team effort. Serve it over ice with an orange slice. Honestly, just try it. It’s bloody delicious. It’s still simultaneously bitter and sweet, syrupy and sharp. Only now it’s everything I could ask for. You’ll thank me for this.

This isn’t so much a revolution as a renaissance. Looks like, as with everything, Mummy Brown was right all along.

Nate Brown has owned and operated spirit specialist cocktail bars in London for the better part of a decade. He’s a regular speaker on industry panels, a judge for various spirit awards and has been known to harbour an opinion or two.  

 

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Noteworthy Eurovision-Themed Drinks

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The Eurovision Song Contest kicks off next week, with the final on Saturday 18 May, so we’ve selected some super European tipples for your enjoyment. Eurovision is pretty much the…

The Eurovision Song Contest kicks off next week, with the final on Saturday 18 May, so we’ve selected some super European tipples for your enjoyment.

Eurovision is pretty much the best thing in the world. Other people might insist on watching shows with dragons, superheroes or Keeley Hawes, but honestly how could that compare to a night of cheesy, camp fun with an endless array of bangers, ballads and the downright bizarre. From dancing Russian grandmas, Viking corpse costumes, drag queens and Jedward, TWICE somehow, Eurovision really has got everything.

To honour this year’s edition of the world’s biggest music entertainment show, we’ve rounded up some incredible booze from some of the competing countries so you can indulge yourself on an evening of unrivalled entertainment.

From French fancies to exciting English expressions, a couple of stunners from Spain and Switzerland and more, we’ve got some major treats for you. I’d tell you to enjoy, but it’s Eurovision. Of course you’re going to enjoy yourself.

Hepple Gin

The United Kingdom’s hopes this year rest on the shoulders of Michael Rice, a native from Hartlepool, County Durham, England, so it’s fitting that you’d cheer him on with a delicious and wonderfully Northern gin! Distilled by the Moorland Spirit Company using a rather intricate production method, which includes pot stills, vacuum distillation and a super-critical CO2 extraction process, Hepple Gin is full-bodied, balanced and simply begging to be put to good use in a G&T.

What does it taste like?:

Lemon peels, peppery juniper, coriander, pine and sherbet lemon sweeties.

Milk & Honey Young Single Malt Aged Spirit

From this year’s host city of Tel Aviv comes a young single malt spirit which isn’t quite old enough to be called whisky yet from Milk & Honey Distillery. This tipple was matured in ex-red wine, bourbon and ex-Islay whisky casks and boasts a tasty and complex flavour profile.

What does it taste like?:

Floral sweetness followed by smoky peat and maritime notes, orange peel, dried fruit and honeydew melon, with woody notes appearing on the finish.

Maxime Trijol VSOP

For those who enjoy all things French, why not combine the joy of Bilal Hassani’s song ‘Roi’ with this classic VSOP Cognac from Maxime Trijol? The family (the Trijols, not the Hassanis) has been distilling quality Cognac since 1859 and are now one of the largest and most consistent distillers in the region, so you know you won’t be going wrong with this beauty.

What does it taste like?:

Smoke, over-ripe fruits, sandalwood, marmalade, mixed peels, honeyed, peppery finish with sweet spices.

Stork Club Straight Rye Whiskey

What’s this? Rye whiskey from Germany?! That’s right. Eurovision is well known for springing a surprise or two, so we thought we’d follow suit and champion this straight rye whiskey from the wonderful Stork Club. Produced just south of Berlin using German rye, this tipple is a worthy celebration of the country whose hopes are pinned on S!sters this year. I wonder if anyone has let them know they’ve spelt that wrong. Someone really should.

What does it taste like?:

Brown bread with Nutella, cane sugar, punchy black pepper, nutmeg, clove, red apples and blackberries.

Malfy Gin Con Rosa

Perhaps some of you will be enjoying Italian gin witnessing an Italian win on Saturday 18 May? Even if Italy doesn’t bring home the big prize, you can be sure that you’ll be singing this ace gin’s praises, which was built around the delicious Sicilian pink grapefruit and a hint of rhubarb too.

What does it taste like?:

Tangy pink grapefruit at the fore, balanced well by peppery juniper and a touch of thyme.

XECO Fino

While Miki is on a mission to wow Europe’s heart with his entry ‘La Venda’, this Spanish brand on a mission to make sherry accessible again. XECO Fino, which was aged for a minimum of four years in American oak, is a crisp and refreshingly dry fino that makes for a great introduction to fortified wine, so it’s fair to say XECO has succeeded in its goal. It’s really tasty served straight up or over ice with tonic or lemonade.

What does it taste like?:

Dainty and floral on the nose, building to the refreshing umami-esque palate. Thirst-quenching stuff, and ideal for aperitifs.

Säntis 10 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

The Swiss really do make some delicious single malt, and if you weren’t aware of that than you should immediately familiarise yourself with the wonderful whisky distilled by Säntis. The Swiss brand produced this rich and complex 10-year-old expression which was independently bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Which was a very smart thing to do. This is a very, very tasty whisky.

What does it taste like?:

Toasted brown sugar, sticky treacle, Bramley apple, dried fruit, cacao, macaroons, drying barley, winter spice and brandy snaps.

La Trappe Blond

While Duncan Laurence represents The Netherlands with his song ‘Arcade’, you could show your appreciation for The Netherlands by enjoying some of its delicious beer, namely this excellent Trappist Blond ale from the Dutch La Trappe selection.

What does it taste like?:

Crisp and refreshing, with sliced banana, clove-studded orange and creamy honey. Big yeast influence on this one, too. Hop bitterness stays way in the background, but it certainly is there.

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