Sherry

Since I've been reading too many English romance novels, I've developed a yen to try sherry.
We were in Cardinal Liquors on Central this weekend and there was a limited stock of sherry as piwo, vodka, cervaza and rum seem to be the big sellers, although there is a pretty extensive wine section. Trying to decide between Harvey's Bristol Creme and something for $3.99, I gave up and decided to turn to the collective wisdom and knowledge of LTH.
Are there any suggestions for sherry for a before dinner drink?

Cardinal Liquors
3501 N Central Ave
Chicago

Rio Viejo can be hard to find here, but was my go-to in the midpoint price range in Spain:

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nl ... rodid=3617

It's a Domecq, which used to be a high profile name in Spain, but was commercialized and then merged into oblivion and I think is actually now owned by Fortune Brands (and some of the company went to Dunkin' Donuts). Inauspicious, I know, but the sherry is delicious.

I cook with Sheffield Very Dry, a California pseudo-sherry. It defies Frugie's axiom that you need to love drinking it to love cooking with it.

If you want a high end bottle (it's sherry, so it's still cheap), I strongly encourage something from the Emlio Lustau portfolio:

http://www.emilio-lustau.com/

For something nice and light before dinner, i would suggest a manzanillo or a fino. The Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanillo is delicious with a hint of salty air and can be found at Binnys or Sam's for about $9 for a 500 ml bottle.

deesher wrote:For something nice and light before dinner, i would suggest a manzanillo or a fino.

Nice call, deesher.

I love a dry, simple fino along with manchego as a pre-dinner starter.

Pretty classic Spanish combo. But as my good friend, jmarzo would always say, "Tradition...it's there because it works!"

Sherry's a well kept secret in the US. One reason I like it is cause it's great for during the week, you can sip a small glass and cork the bottle back up and put in the refrigerator. An open bottle will keep for a month.

Be forewarned it'll taste a LOT different than any wine you've ever had, it's definitely an unusual acquired taste but grows on you quickly. For your first time definitely go with a dry one as suggested above, a fino or manzanilla. Binny's always has a good selection on hand, anything from Spain will be good and will go about $10-15 a bottle. Serve it very cold and don't pour it in a regular wine glass, it'll overwhelm you that way. Try it in a liqueur glass. And don't drink it without food, it just doesn't taste right to me unaccompanied by food. As mentioned above, it's great with manchego. Anything salty works really well with a dry sherry, especially jamon serrano, olives or almonds (Spanish marcona almonds are awesome if you want to splurge). Enjoy, as you can see from everyone's enthusiastic comments once you get hooked you'll love this stuff.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start trying some suggestions this weekend and I'll report back on my finds. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll start trying some suggestions this weekend and I'll report back on my finds. Thanks again.

I cook with $3.99 dry sherry (or maybe $4.99), which tastes surprisingly good. The one I buy is Taylor, and I think it's from NY.

I love sherry. I like the medium dry sherry called amontillado. The brand I have enjoyed is Barbadillo. I have purchased that at Sam's, and seen it other places as well. Also last time I was in Trader Joe's I bought a Real Tesoro Amontillado for 4.99 which is very good. I like to cook and sip the medium dry. When I carmelize onions I often add a splash of sherry to the onions, which have cooked a while in olive oil, s and p. Very good on a homemade pizza with oil cured black olives and rosemary.

I also like to sip a chilled fino, lighter and dryer, with the aforementioned cheese.

enjoy,

Howard Alt

In my drinking days, I used to favor Meier's 44 Cream Sherry which is produced in Ohio. You will find it smooth and sweet.

http://www.meierswinecellars.com/wlist.html