Sep/16/2008 Filed in: Dry Sack
Dry Sack on the Rocks
By Dan Dunn
Though it sounds like a condition for which an elderly gentleman might need to see an urologist, in actuality Dry Sack is the world’s most popular sherry. Produced in and around the city of Jerez in southwestern Spain, sherry is wine fortified with brandy after fermentation. For just over one hundred years, Dry Sack has been made from a blend of white Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez grapes aged a minimum of six years under Spain's time-honored “solera” system of fractional blending, which involves rotating the wine through a series of barrels.
Because it’s lighter and sweeter and hence more palate-friendly than most dry sherries, Dry Sack is an ideal ingredient for preparing the most popular of all sherry-based cocktails, the Cobbler, a refreshing fruity adult treat usually served over ice in a wine goblet or old-fashioned glass. Oh, and don’t forget the straw — tradition demands a Cobbler be consumed through a straw.
“Making a Cobbler is sort of a lost art,” says Giuseppe Gonzalez, head bartender at the Clover Club in Brooklyn. “But I’m trying to spread the word and help bring it back because it truly is a great summer cocktail.” To that end, Gonzalez created the Madroño (the Spanish word for a strawberry tree), a modern twist on the classic Cobbler that took top honors at the 2007 U.S. Sherry Cocktail Competition held last November in New York. Though it may look like your average fru-fru drink, tasting reveals that the Madroño has got some serious zing to it. That’s because Gonzalez offset the inherent sweetness of the Madroño’s main ingredients with a dash of Torani Amer liqueur, America’s answer to the hard-to-find bitter orange French apertif Amer Picon.
Cobblers aren’t for everybody, however, and there is certainly something to be said about the simple pleasures of sherry served straight up or over ice. And I think we can agree that “I’ll have a Dry Sack on the rocks” ranks among the all-time greats in the pantheon of euphemistic drink orders.
Dry Sack retails for $16 and is available at wine and spirits shops everywhere. The Madroño is available for $10 at The Clover Club, 210 Smith St., Brooklyn.
Madroño
Recipe by Giuseppe Gonzalez, Clover Club
3 oz. Dry Sack
2 strawberries
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 oz. Torani Amer
2 barspoons Demerara Syrup
Muddle one strawberry in Torani Amer. Break cinnamon stick in half in cocktail shaker. Add Dry Sack and shake. Serve in wine goblet or rocks glass. Add ice. Garnish with fanned strawberry, cinnamon stick and a straw.
By Dan Dunn
Though it sounds like a condition for which an elderly gentleman might need to see an urologist, in actuality Dry Sack is the world’s most popular sherry. Produced in and around the city of Jerez in southwestern Spain, sherry is wine fortified with brandy after fermentation. For just over one hundred years, Dry Sack has been made from a blend of white Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez grapes aged a minimum of six years under Spain's time-honored “solera” system of fractional blending, which involves rotating the wine through a series of barrels.
Because it’s lighter and sweeter and hence more palate-friendly than most dry sherries, Dry Sack is an ideal ingredient for preparing the most popular of all sherry-based cocktails, the Cobbler, a refreshing fruity adult treat usually served over ice in a wine goblet or old-fashioned glass. Oh, and don’t forget the straw — tradition demands a Cobbler be consumed through a straw.
“Making a Cobbler is sort of a lost art,” says Giuseppe Gonzalez, head bartender at the Clover Club in Brooklyn. “But I’m trying to spread the word and help bring it back because it truly is a great summer cocktail.” To that end, Gonzalez created the Madroño (the Spanish word for a strawberry tree), a modern twist on the classic Cobbler that took top honors at the 2007 U.S. Sherry Cocktail Competition held last November in New York. Though it may look like your average fru-fru drink, tasting reveals that the Madroño has got some serious zing to it. That’s because Gonzalez offset the inherent sweetness of the Madroño’s main ingredients with a dash of Torani Amer liqueur, America’s answer to the hard-to-find bitter orange French apertif Amer Picon.
Cobblers aren’t for everybody, however, and there is certainly something to be said about the simple pleasures of sherry served straight up or over ice. And I think we can agree that “I’ll have a Dry Sack on the rocks” ranks among the all-time greats in the pantheon of euphemistic drink orders.
Dry Sack retails for $16 and is available at wine and spirits shops everywhere. The Madroño is available for $10 at The Clover Club, 210 Smith St., Brooklyn.
Madroño
Recipe by Giuseppe Gonzalez, Clover Club
3 oz. Dry Sack
2 strawberries
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 oz. Torani Amer
2 barspoons Demerara Syrup
Muddle one strawberry in Torani Amer. Break cinnamon stick in half in cocktail shaker. Add Dry Sack and shake. Serve in wine goblet or rocks glass. Add ice. Garnish with fanned strawberry, cinnamon stick and a straw.
