Sherry Sour
Dry shake ∙ 5 min ∙ 8.2% ABV ∙
A Sherry Sour is built on Palo Cortado sherry instead of a base spirit, shaken with lemon, sugar and egg white for a silky, wine-forward sour. A dense, billowing foam cushions a tart, nutty core, finishing dry and lightly oxidative with only a whisper of sweetness lingering on the palate.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Palo Cortado sherry 60 mlLemon juice 20 mlSugar syrup 15 mlEgg white 15 ml
- Strain back into the shaker
- Dry shake (without ice)
- Fine strain into the ice-filled glass
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Use a nutty, slightly oxidative Palo Cortado rather than a pale, delicate sherry — it holds its character against the lemon and sugar.
- Shake once with ice to chill and dilute, then dry-shake without ice — the second shake is what builds a stable, cloud-like foam.
- Fine-strain into the glass to keep any ice shards or foam flecks out, leaving a clean surface for the cherry garnish.
History
The Sherry Sour has no single documented inventor, bar, or date of its own; it is best understood as an application of the classic sour template to sherry rather than a codified historic recipe. The sour family itself is documented in Jerry Thomas's 1862 guide How to Mix Drinks, which included brandy, gin, and other spirit sours built from spirit, citrus, and sugar, with whiskey later becoming the most common base. Sherry was already a familiar cocktail ingredient in that same 19th-century era, appearing widely in punches, cobblers, and flips of the period.
Sherry-based mixed drinks fell out of fashion after Prohibition, when higher-proof spirits came to dominate the American bar. A broader revival of sherry in cocktail culture in the 21st century, led by bartenders and sherry producers reviving 19th-century styles, brought renewed attention to sherry sours as a lighter, lower-proof alternative to spirit-based sours, though no single bar or bartender is credited with fixing the modern Sherry Sour recipe.
FAQ
How do you make a sherry cocktail?
This sherry sour is built by shaking Palo Cortado sherry with fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, and egg white over ice, then straining back into the shaker and dry-shaking without ice to build the foam. It is then fine-strained into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass and finished with a maraschino cherry.
What type of sherry would you put in a whiskey sour?
A dry to medium-dry sherry such as Palo Cortado or an amontillado works well as a float or mixer in a whiskey sour, adding nutty, dried-fruit depth without excess sweetness. This sherry sour instead uses Palo Cortado as the entire base spirit rather than as an accent.
What does sherry taste like in whiskey?
Sherry adds nutty, oxidative, dried-fruit notes and a touch of savory depth to whiskey, softening its edges and adding complexity without overwhelming it. In this sherry sour, that same nutty sherry character becomes the drink's main flavor rather than a background accent.
Should sherry be refrigerated after opening?
Yes, an opened bottle of sherry should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks, since unlike spirits it is lower in alcohol and oxidizes and fades once exposed to air. Palo Cortado and other drier styles hold up a bit longer than sweeter sherries but still degrade over time.
