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This work has won many ans in theindustryin act, at Januarys Copa Jerezinternational ood and sherry pairing com-petition challenging che s and sommeliersto develop and de end the best matches,American sommelier Roger Kugler took tophonors. And sales results have been good but

modest, as imports to the U.S. last year grewby 1.7%, according to gures provided bythe Sherry Council o America. The recentpopularity o Spanish ood and tapas dininghas helped, as neophytes are inevitably morewilling to try a glass o fno or manzanilla togo with their croquetas.

Yet getting restaurants to carry moresherries and o er them by the glass hasntcreated much breakthrough in on-premiseconsumption. An insight ul campaignstarted nearly ve years ago, however, has

established the orti ed wine as part o thecocktail renaissance.

On the MenuCould bartenders be capable o giving sherry new li e? Sherrycocktails are now showing upat many destination bars. AtCantina in San Francisco, youll

nd the Jerez Margarita ( re- posado tequila, Grand Marnier,lime, agave nectar and Savory &

James amontillado) and the Car-

men Amaya (Rittenhouse rye, Cointreau,lemon, muddled basil and amontillado). In

New York City, the Mexican bar and res-taurant Mayahuel, recently opened by no-table bartender Phillip Ward, eatures theSmoked Palomino ( amontillado, mezcal,grape ruit and lime) and the pan-Asian res-

taurant Pranna included on its summer listthe Bengal Tiger (sa ron and cardamom-in used vodka, manzanilla, ginger juice andsparkling water).

All this is no accident, but the result o aslowly building program challenging bartend-ers to develop and de end sherry cocktails. Inthe past ew years as quality ingredients, clas-sic cocktails and mixology experimentationhave taken hold o the bar business, these e -

orts have been bearing ruit.As unusual an ingredient it may seem to

todays untutored cocktail an, sherrys ad-dition to mixed drinks predates the classicAmerican cocktail, one o the reasons Steve

Olson and his aka wine geek team launchedthe competition in 2005. Originally intend-ed to be a small part o the overall sherrypromotional campaign, the contest becamecrucial to turning around the image o sherryin the U.S. Olson says the move to all- reshingredients and high-end premium versions

has helped sherry by association.I you have a good product, its just a

matter o time be ore it becomes an impor-tant cocktail ingredient and a lot o peoplecatch on, he says.

CompetitionBreeds Creativity Many products employ bartender contests tospur interest and mixability in a particularcategory. But ew are as tough as the sherrycompetition. Not only must drinks be listed

on a restaurants menu, but each competitormust explain its ood riendly qualities, howit ts with the rest o the menu and why he

or she used a particular sherry.The competition has drawn

a responseand a high qualityo entriesthat surprised evenorganizers, according to sherryambassador Andy Seymour. Bar-tenders love new products andfavors, and while sherry isntnew, its undergoing a reawaken-ing and getting back to where it

category focus

By Jack Robertiello

Sherry, BabyCan the Cocktail Save SpainsClassic Forti ed Wine?

For years there has been a struggle to overcome themusty image rom which classic sherry su ers. Itsbeen a labor to acquaint sommeliers and retailers

with the wide range o favors sherry bodegas produce in fno, manzanilla, amontillado, oloroso and other styles.

At San Franciscos Nopa,Neyah White makes theSherry Shrub cocktail

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was in the past: a key cocktail ingredi-ent, Seymour explains.

For his winning 2008 entry, NeyahWhite o San Franciscos Nopa combineda childhood love or shrub (a drink made

rom ruit preserved with vinegar) withsherry. The drink, mixing the slightlybriny manzanilla with the seasonal ruitdrink made rom sour cherries, plums,persimmons or strawberries, is a stapleon Nopas menu. Its a great base, veryaccepting o other favors and a lot o unto work with, says White. We carry acouple o amontilladoand olorososherries,but the brightness o the shrubb needsthe manzanilla to help it pop, he adds.

Chris Hannah rom Arnauds French75 in New Orleans credits the competi-tion or the opportunity to sample in-spiring sherries and recipes, which hasset him on a quest or more. Buildingon the New Orleans love o the PimmsCup, he o ers two cup-style drinksthe Jerez Cup (rum, sherry, muddledcucumbers and strawberries, lime juice,simple syrup and Cava) and the Span-ish Bay (Chartreuse, Dry Sack sherry,orange juice).

All You HaveTo Do Is Try People are a bit wary o sherry here inthe South. Theyre drinking vodka cock-tails and bourbon, and Ive ound they

can be a little a raid o the maltiness o

sherry, Hannah adds. But hes ound agood reception or his cup recipes.

The biggest hurdle is consumer mis-conception about what sherry is; peoplemay think there is only sweet sherry,or that it is old- ashioned, says MarcDestito, director o the Sherry Council.We need to communicate the versatil-ity o sherry to consumers and get themto taste the various types. Unless we getthem to taste, they dont have an under-

standing o what sherry is.The Council has other activities

its recently launched the consumer-ocused Secret Sherry Society; the group

presents at annual events like the Food &Wine Classic in Aspen; and a branded adcampaign and retail POS is orthcoming.Sherry ambassadors are working in Chi-cago, San Francisco, New York, southernFlorida and Las Vegas this year.

But the cocktail is king now, andwhile the competition mostly targets

cocktail infuencers, Olson says it wontultimately do much good i sherry cock-tails dont go beyond those limits: Everybar in America has Tio Pepe, Dry Sackand Harveys Bristol Creamor at leastone o them. But most bartenders have noidea what to do with them, and the bot-tles have been sitting there or months.

Rather than allowing bottles to losequality while they sit on the warm backbar, he recommends bartenders o er ba-sic drinks like Sherry Cups or Cobblers,where resh ruit is the main ingredient.

Think sangria, he says. The smart-est thing you can do in a bar to controlpour cost is take red wine be ore it goesbad, add brandy and ruit and theres agorgeous summer drink. The Sherry Cob-bler is the same basic principle and every-one has limes, lemons and oranges.

But Olson knows he and sherry pro-moters still have a tough road ahead:There are people who will never, everdrink sherry. But i they have it in acocktail that they like, it might open

one more door. n

I you have a goodproduct, its just a

matter o time be oreit eventually becomesan important cocktailingredient and a lot o

people catch on. Steve Olson,

aka wine geek

sherry Resting barrelsof Lustau sherry