Sherry Cobbler

For Sherry lovers, and pretty much anybody else for that matter, the Sherry Cobbler is a wonderful treat of a cocktail. A lot of people like to simply sip at straight Sherry, but it actually works well in a variety of cocktails, especially a cocktail where the Sherry is actually the base, like the Sherry Cobbler. Being a cobbler, there's a few ingredients in here that are, well, cobbled together to create something wonderful. There's a bit of sweetness to a Sherry Cobbler thanks to the varieties of Sherry used, but there's also some fruitiness and tartness from the fruits used. It's a wonderfully balanced cocktail actually!

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

35 mL Oloroso Sherry
15 mL Pedro Ximenez Sherry
5 mL Maraschino Liqueur
1 wedge Orange
1 wedge Lemon
1 piece Pineapple
Garnish with additional Lemon Wedge and/or Pineapple

Instructions

Put Orange Wedge, Lemon Wedge, and Pineapple in a cocktail shaker and muddle.
Add Sherry and Maraschino Liqueur.
Shake everything with plenty of ice to ensure everything is both mixed and cold.
Strain into a Highball glass filled with fresh ice.
Garnish and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

While you're welcome to experiment with different kinds of Sherry here, the key is to balance different kinds of Sherry, so don't just grab any variety of Sherry and get shaking. Oloroso is a more full bodied Sherry variety with a little bit of sweetness, but it's also quite complex. Meanwhile, Pedro Ximenez is sweeter still and offers fruitier flavours than the Oloroso. If these two types of Sherry create too much sweetness, you may want to look at replacing one of then with a drier variety like Fino Sherry. If you were to replace one of the Sherries, we'd suggest replacing the Pedro Ximenez as it has the lesser of proportions of the two.

But ultimately you do you. Ultimately you're making a cocktail for you to enjoy. Make things the way your like them!

A Few More Words on the Sherry Cobbler

The Sherry Cobbler ranks amongst other Sherry based cocktails like the Bamboo or the Adonis, however, the Sherry Cobbler is perhaps the most complex of Sherry Based cocktails. As you can see from the recipe, it uses two types of Sherry and a whole lot of fruit! While not invented by Charles Dickens, we can see that the Sherry Cobbler has been around since at least the 1840’s when it was mentioned in his serial (later novel) The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit. As mentioned, the Sherry Cobbler existed before Dickens mentioned it in his book, and it was quite popular before Dickens, but we’re sure he did a lot to help make it even more popular over time!

Although Sherry is often seen as an old fashioned drink, and a cocktail recipe from the early 1840’s is indeed old, it’s been gaining popularity in recent years. Things do indeed go in cycles! Because of this, maybe it’s time for you to up your Sherry game and make some of these.

Can I increase the recipe for the Sherry Cobbler to make more?

You can increase this recipe slightly, but not by too much. If you increase it too much you’ll have trouble muddling all the fruit in your cocktail shaker. You’ll also likely have trouble shaking everything. So if you want to make two cocktails at a time, you should be fine, but keep it at that.

Can I make a Sherry Cobbler ahead of time and serve it later?

You might be able to, but you’d be better off serving this cocktail right after you make it. This is because when you muddle the Orange and the Lemon, you’ll be releasing oils from the peels; oils that you want to stay mixed into the drink. If you leave it to long, those oils may separate from the rest of the cocktail. Make the Sherry Cobbler in real time.

What’s a good time to have a Sherry Cobbler?

Both the Oloroso Sherry and Pedro Ximenez Sherry are usually enjoyed after dinner. Going further, this recipe leans a little bit more sweet than it does tart, and it’s not very dry at all. Because of this we’re suggesting the Sherry Cobbler as a wonderful after dinner cocktail. You may want to pair it with a more savory dessert such a cheese or just have the drink on its own as a special treat.

However, being a little fruity, this recipe may be a good one for earlier in the day, even over brunch or the early afternoon. After all, brunch has a long tradition of light fruit juice based cocktails, so why not continue it?

How strong a cocktail is the Sherry Cobbler?

Since you’re basically just adding fruit juice to Sherry (and a little bit of Maraschino Liqueur), the Sherry Cobbler is a great choice if you’re after a low alcohol cocktail. Sherry can creep up a little bit in ABV, sometimes as high as 22%, but this is much lower than making a cocktail with say, Gin, which usually sits around 40% ABV. All in all Sherry is only moderately stronger than most normal Wines, however, a typical serving of wine is about 145-190 ML, while here you’re only having 50 mL of Sherry (plus the 5 mL of Maraschino Liqueur of course!).

So yes, this is well and truly a nice low alcohol cocktail!

What’s the best kind of music to put on while drinking a Sherry Cobbler?

While the Sherry Cobbler is an older cocktail recipe, we also mentioned that Sherry has been enjoying a bit of a resurgence recently. So should this cocktail be put with older music or newer music? We think it should be paired with older music. Although Sherry is gaining in popularity, this recipe still feels old fashioned. That’s not a bad thing of course, old recipes like this stick around for a long time for a reason.

We feel like this is the type of cocktail people would enjoy during the time people had drawing rooms. Perhaps they were gathered around having a nice afternoon drink while one of the guests played some popular songs on the piano. So we’re suggesting having a Sherry Cobbler with some older piano music playing. That would go real nice!