Cheers

www.cheersonline.com 19 JULY/AUGUST 2014 | Even more oxidized are the barrels that, from the start, are chosen to be intentionally oxidized. is is oloroso, which is richer and nuttier than amontillado, and can vary from dry to fairly sweet. ere is also a super-sweet style called PX, for its source grape Pedro Ximenez. It's the sweetest wine on the planet, and tastes like raisin juice from heaven. MIXING WITH SHERRY Sherry may be a hot mixology trend now, but sherry cocktails aren't new. "King Cocktail" Dale DeGroff used to make a Valencia Martini for the owner of the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. He describes it as a "gin Martini with fino sherry in place of the dry vermouth." A vodka version was Dean Martin's cocktail at Chasen's, a great Hollywood watering hole. I asked around to see what my mixologist friends use as guiding principles when creating sherry cocktails. One of the best comments came from Jackson Cannon of e Hawthorne in Boston: "While vermouths bring texture, fruit, herbs...and bitterness to cocktails, sherries bring nuances of nuts, spice and a richness born of their biological process. ey are incomparable for a range of food-friendly cocktails." ere are a few other guiding principles I've discovered about mixing with sherry. One is to use white goods with fresh sherry, brown goods with oxidized. For instance, the bright freshness of the fino and manzanilla styles works with the clarity of spirits such as vodka, gin and silver tequila. Conversely, the nuttiness of amontillado and oloroso go nicely in whiskey and Cognac cocktails. You can also replace the vermouth with sherry. For your first couple of tries, just take a classic Milanese-style cocktail and replace the dry or sweet vermouth with the appropriate sherry. It doesn't fundamentally change the cocktail, it just twists it around a little. And instead of simple syrup and liqueurs, you might consider PX sherry for sweetening. Its rich, raisiny flavor not only sweetens, but adds a deep richness and mouth-coating body. Finally, sherries have tons of flavor without high alcohol (ranging from 15%- 19% ABV). is means that you can offer a lower-alcohol drink that still has tremendous flavor impact. So get a few of each style of sherry and start experimenting. Offering a few sherry cocktails will show that you aren't following—you're leading the way. John Fischer is an associate professor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and a former wine director at several New York restaurants. Barrels of sherry, called butts, at rest in southwestern Spain. PALE RIDER 3 oz. Fino or manzanilla sherry 1 oz. Jalapeño-infused blanco tequila (cut up one fresh pepper, add to 750-ml. of tequila and let sit for about two or three hours) ½ oz. Rich simple syrup (2:1) ¼ oz. Fresh lime juice Build over ice in a rocks glass. Stir to combine and garnish with a slice of cucumber. Phil Ward of Mayahuel in New York created this recipe.

• Cover