Ok this may be somewhat of a blasphemous post, but I have discovered a new way to enjoy spirits that I’m really digging. Add a gentle splash of a sweeter sherry (I’ve been using Lustau East India Solera) to your spirit of choice. Scotch and rums have been particularly delicious. It straddles nicely between a boozy cocktail and straight dram. Obviously I wouldn’t advocate doing this with your most special bottles, but man it has been so satisfying.

The idea for this came after reading about how “sherry-cask finished” spirits generally aren’t really as romantic as they seem. Sherry is a complex style of fortified wine, meticulously crafted and often aged for many years. The romantic idea of using an emptied out sherry-soaked oak barrel and refilling with whisky is frankly not reality. What really happens is a variety of more resourceful ‘shortcuts,’ whether that be adding additional sherry to a filled barrel, and/or creating “sherry” barrels specifically by priming new barrels with lower quality sherry that isn’t fit to even be sold as a true sherry (after priming the barrels, it’ll often get distilled into a brandy or turned into sherry vinegar).

So, here’s my own “resourceful shortcut” for a delicious dram. Hold the judgment please, cheers.