Ease Your Way Into Sherry With Adonis
Expert cocktail friends have many benefits. Aside from being great presenters, they often (quite generously) give me inspiration and recipes for this column. They usually end up directing me towards the classic cocktails that I missed out on somehow. This is very helpful.
About a week ago, I texted my friend Devoika, who is hosting an invitation-only cocktail party in Montreal, asking for her help because I ran out of cocktail ideas. She sent me a long list of classics that included Adonis, a cocktail made of equal parts fino sherry and sweet vermouth. I recently got hit by Carpano Antica and this one called me.
If you’ve never tried sherry, Adonis is a great starting point. With just two ingredients, this is a good chance to explore the flavor of straw-colored almond sherry and find out your preference for ratios and brands. Devoyk also noted that “with so few ingredients, it’s really a great opportunity to focus on basics like basics and techniques like freezing ice in a chopper block versus using ice from the refrigerator.” Adonis is a blended cocktail, but you can play with the format by trying it on a large rock, or you can build it all right in the lowball. To make it you will need:
- 1 1/2 oz fino sherry
- 1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
- 2 drops of orange bitter
Place everything in a glass with ice and stir for about 30 seconds. Strain into a small bowl over a large stone and garnish with a strip of lemon zest, separating the oil from the strip, before hanging it over the edge of the glass. (Yes, this will technically increase the ingredient count to four, so skip this if you don’t like that.)