Sherry Old Fashioned

A rich, spirit-forward riff on the Old Fashioned where Pedro Ximenez sherry replaces simple syrup, adding layers of raisin, chocolate, and dried fig to a bold bourbon base.

The Sherry Old Fashioned is a contemporary modification of the foundational American cocktail formula that uses dry or oxidative sherry as a partial or full substitute for the conventional sugar component, adding the fortified wine's natural depth and umami quality to one of the simplest drink templates in the canon. Sherry — produced in the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry appellation of Andalusia, Spain, from Palomino grapes aged under distinctive conditions — encompasses a range of styles from the bone-dry, yeast-aged fino and manzanilla through the oxidatively aged amontillado and oloroso to the intensely sweet, sun-dried Pedro Ximénez. Pedro Ximénez, known as PX, is produced by drying harvested grapes in the Andalusian sun until they shrivel into raisin-like pellets before pressing and fermenting, then aging in solera systems that can span generations. The resulting wine is nearly black, enormously sweet, and saturated with raisin, molasses, coffee, and dried fruit flavors. In the Old Fashioned framework, a small measure of PX replaces or supplements the sugar, contributing sweetness with vastly more complexity: the raisin and molasses notes interact with bourbon's own barrel caramel in a mutually reinforcing way, while the oloroso styles used in the drier versions add a nutty, oxidative quality that gives the drink a savory depth no conventional sweetener can provide.