Sherry Aficionados?

[lxskllr]

Thinking about getting the boss and his girlfriend a decent bottle of sherry for jul this year. Problem is I don't know a thing about sherry. Any suggestions for a (probably)dry sherry with a soft cap of $60?

Dry isn't essential, but he generally isn't a fan of sweet drinks, though he loves sweets, so a sweet sherry might work. I don't really know. I'd probably want to try it first myself to see if I think it's appropriate. I was thinking sherry cause I know he likes wine, and thought something a little more stout would be good for winter.

 

[Mayne]

I thought that was what old alchohics drank.

 

[lxskllr]

I thought that was what old alchohics drank.

Close, I think that's port :^D

 

[Mayne]

I should of known that.

 

[KMFJD]

I thought that was what old alchohics drank.

Was just gonna say this, the only person i know that drank that stuff was a hardcore alcoholic and it offered him the best bang per $

 

[KB]

Port > sherry.

Dows 20 year Tawny will hit your price point and is quite good.
http://www.wine.com/v6/Dows-20-Year-Old-Tawny-Port/wine/1812/Detail.aspx

 

[bbhaag]

Well I just went down the rabbit hole as far as sherry is concerned and I think I'd like to try it out. It looks like my local Friar Tucks has a nice Emilio Lustau Amontillado in stock at a decent price so I'm going to head that way tomorrow and get a bottle.

 

[DigDog]

i would say, neither. port is good when it's good, which means it's gotta be actually Porto port. and then, it's expensive. Sherry is a cheap drink, not necessarily what the drunks drink, but not a refined drink by any means, and yet it's still overpriced.
i would suggest .. a quality whisky. or better, a real italian wine, like brunello di montalcino, or amarone. or barolo. with $60 you can bag a quality bottle of any of these.

 

[rommelrommel]

I have never heard of a good sherry.

 

[Painman]

Yeesh, for $60 a fifth you can go for some highly decent brandy/cognac.

Sherry is typically fortified wine. Pleb tier right from the get-go. $60 sherry is a con.

$60 Port is not, but Port tends to be sweet... Damned Portuguese.

Buy the asshole some Courvousier

 

[lxskllr]

i would say, neither. port is good when it's good, which means it's gotta be actually Porto port. and then, it's expensive. Sherry is a cheap drink, not necessarily what the drunks drink, but not a refined drink by any means, and yet it's still overpriced.
i would suggest .. a quality whisky. or better, a real italian wine, like brunello di montalcino, or amarone. or barolo. with $60 you can bag a quality bottle of any of these.

I know whiskey. I was thinking about getting that, and I still may. I was thinking about RedBreast Irish. His girlfriend would like that, but I'm not sure about him.

I want to stay away from regular wine cause he knows wine, or at least he thinks he does, and he has particular tastes. I know almost nothing about wine, so the chance of success is low.

 

[lxskllr]

Buy the asshole some Courvousier

That's a possibility. I'm not that familiar with cognac, but I've had a couple glasses, and that would fit with what I'm going for. I could pick a bottle up today to firm up my opinion.

 

[DigDog]

my advice with whisky is to either go full-cask, or go home. watered down commercial whisky is not the same as out of the barrel whisky, it does not have the same intensity of flavor and feeling when drinking.
by far my favorite is Ardbeg Corryvreckan 57% (percentage varies on the bottling, as it varies by cask) https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/ardbeg/ardbeg-corryvreckan-whisky/

but it's £60 in the EU so it's unlikely you'll find it for less than $120 in the US. The only spirit which is likely to have the same "if you don't like me f* you" taste in the states for $60 is Bourbon, of which i know nothing. That's why i recommended a good italian wine. It will not last as long, but a bottle of Tegolato, Biondi-Santi, Barbi or Banfi will go a long way for the money, just make sure to explain they need to decant it for one hour or so.

source: i used to sell the stuff

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

There are plenty of good sherrys in the $50 range. Check out any of the offerings from
González Byass in the Andalusian region of Spain. Fortified wines port, sherry, madeira are greatly under appreciated.

 

[lxskllr]

Just picked up a bottle of this for $55...

Pretty nice, but I'm gonna keep looking. I'll try a sherry, and a cognac/brandy, then pick my favorite of the bunch, but this port is pretty good. I'll pack it with chocolate and nuts if I end up getting it.

edit:
Got a bottle of armagnac. Not a fan. It's a little sharp and thin. I looked it up, and it appears to be made in column stills. If I had known that, I wouldn't have bought it. Oh well. Something else to add to my "alcohol I've tried" list. Port and sherry seems to be scarce around here. Everything hovers around the low end of the market.

 

[WelshBloke]

I have never heard of a good sherry.

You haven't listened hard enough then.

 

[rommelrommel]

You haven't listened hard enough then.

I don't really care what brand of glue is best for huffing either.

 

[WelshBloke]

I don't really care what brand of glue is best for huffing either.

So are you saying that you've listened hard but theres no good sherry or that you haven't listened and you haven't heard that theres any good sherry?

 

[DigDog]

3 quid from iceland .. what more could you want.

 

[WelshBloke]

3 quid from iceland .. what more could you want.

Well myself? This...

If you're buying.

 

[DigDog]

according to my google-fu', it's in the region of 60euro per bottle (plus whatever the local retailer decides to stick on), which is the same price i pay for a top end whisky.
mind you, WINE can get to thousands of dollars, and i'm not talking bottles from the 1800s, but modern wines. And if someone offers me some, sure, i'll have a dram. It's not something i'd recommend, though.

Wine - EU prices - 30e for a solid bottle.
Spirits - EU prices - 60e for a solid bottle.

A bottle of wine is about 2 servings, a bottle of whisky is about 7 servings, so ..

 

[MrSquished]

never had a Sherry but I have had a Port. I rather like ports. I also like the dessert drink from my homeland:

but the posts in this thread have been duly noted. I'm a heavy drinker so if I ever get down on my luck I'll be checking out discount Sherry's like a motherfucker.

 

[WelshBloke]

never had a Sherry but I have had a Port. I rather like ports. I also like the dessert drink from my homeland:

but the posts in this thread have been duly noted. I'm a heavy drinker so if I ever get down on my luck I'll be checking out discount Sherry's like a motherfucker.

Cooking port is easier to drink than cooking sherry if you're desperate!

Tell us more about that drink though!

 

[WelshBloke]

according to my google-fu', it's in the region of 60euro per bottle (plus whatever the local retailer decides to stick on), which is the same price i pay for a top end whisky.

It's aged for 30 years plus proper sherry isn't the easiest thing to make in the first place.

It's not just boiling beer like you do for whisky!

 

[MrSquished]

Cooking port is easier to drink than cooking sherry if you're desperate!

Tell us more about that drink though!

St Johns Commandaria is a Cypriot drink. Some say it's reminiscent of a Port and others of Sherry. It's used in religious ceremonies there. It's sweet but not cloying. It's also quite strong. Definitely warmed me up, and in Cyprus it's usually already warm. I mean it's part of my heritage, I have a fondness for it. It's worth trying a bottle if you don't mind the sweet. There is quite a lot of history behind Commandaria.