Cocktails with Tawny port
Tawny port is a fortified wine from Portugal’s Douro Valley, aged for years in wood barrels until it oxidizes to an amber-brown color.
ABV19–21%
Substitutes for Tawny port
Strength and sugar are easy to match inside the category; the nuttiness and the amber come from years in a cask and do not transfer. A younger port keeps the sweetness and turns the drink red, which is a visible change before it is a tasted one.
On the label
- tawny vs ruby
- The whole split is where the wine ages. Tawny matures in wood, where slow contact with air fades the color and builds nutty, dried-fruit character. Ruby ages sealed, keeps its color and stays fruity.
- “10 / 20 / 30 / 40 years”
- Not a minimum age. The number describes the character the blend is judged to have, and every wine has to pass an IVDP tasting to carry it.
- colheita
- A tawny from one single harvest rather than a blend, aged at least seven years in cask.
