AVENIR

When was the last time you walked into a bar and ordered a glass of sherry?

 

While it has been long-neglected in the alcohol trade, sherry, a fortified wine from Jerez, is getting a shot at redemption, courtesy of the low-ABV (alcohol by volume) movement. Alcohol charity Drinkaware classifies drinks between 0.05 and 1.2 per cent alcohol as low-ABV. The campaign has gained traction in recent years, fuelled by waves of health awareness.

 

Until recently, very few bars and pubs offered sherry as part of cocktails. Most mixed drinks use higher-proof spirits, which clock up around 40 per cent alcohol. Sherry, on the other hand, ranges from 15 to 22 per cent, considerably lowering the cocktail’s alcohol content.

 

“Sherry is very hard to work with,” explains Brendan Rosekelly, a bar manager and consultant. “Cocktails are meant to enhance the spirit’s flavour. If you're going to kill that taste, there's no point creating the drink.”

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Alexa Davies, co-founder of sherry company XECO Wines, highlights the dilemma: “In cocktails, sugar and alcohol are nightmarish components for bartenders.”

 

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But with low-ABV becoming popular, people might start embracing sherry-based cocktails more. “When you add Fino sherry, you're bringing in dryness and depth of flavour, but you're also reducing the alcohol,” says Davies.

 

Would XECO consider creating lower-proof sherry? “We might use it as a base with a mixer for ready-to-drink cans, but we wouldn’t tamper with the Fino itself,” explains Davies. “That would be bastardising sherry.”

 

She calls the low-alcohol trend a relief, with more and more bars considering sherry-based serves on their menus: “Sherry is still feared by many. But now, we can walk into a bar, and there’s a conversation to be had.”