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
Madeira
A medium-sweet Bual or sweet Malmsey is closest in taste and goes in at the same amount, with similar nutty, caramel notes.
Takes the same amount. The drink turns redder and fruitier and loses the nutty note.
Cream sherry
Also goes one for one and is a little sweeter.
On the label
- tawny vs ruby
- Tawny matures in wood, where slow contact with air fades the color and builds nutty, dried-fruit character. Ruby ages sealed 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.
