Go Back
Sketches of Spain cocktail in a coupe glass

Sketches of Spain

Print Recipe
The Sketches of Spain cocktail is a (relatively) low alcohol cocktail made with Oloroso Sherry, Sweet Vermouth, Brandy, and a bit of Honey Syrup. We say "relatively low alcohol" for this cocktail because the main ingredient is the Sherry, but there's still plenty of Brandy in there to generally raise the ABV. So don't think this is an easy going mixed drink! But then again, you can treat yourself to a couple more of these, unlike a lot of other cocktails.
This is a relatively modern cocktail recipe, coming from Georgia in the USA, originally made by bartender Kellie Thorn. Beyond that though, we can't find much more information on the history of this cocktail. While it's a great cocktail, it's not one of those famous modern cocktail recipes like the Paper Plane that has become a modern classic. Should it be a world famous modern classic? Well, make one and decide for yourself.
Either way you look at it though, the good news is that this is a relatively simple cocktail to make. The ingredients aren't terribly exotic, maybe it's slightly pushing away from what everyone would have in their home bar, but it has some relatively common ingredients that will give you an opportunity to expand your bar at home.
Total Time 3 minutes
Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • 30 mL Oloroso Sherry
  • 20 mL Sweet Vermouth preferably Spanish Vermouth
  • 15 mL Brandy preferably Spanish Brandy
  • 5 mL Honey Syrup

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice.
  • Stir everything until it's properly mixed and chilled.
  • Strain into a Coupe glass.
  • Garnish with some citrus and serve.

Notes

As mentioned in the recipe, you should use Spanish ingredients if you have them. After all, this cocktail is called Sketches of Spain. If you want to do things "properly," then yes use Spanish ingredients. We're not ones to push the "proper" thing too much though because ultimately it's about having fun making cocktails and experimenting a little bit. If it tastes good, you're doing something right.
Going further on this cocktail and some other information about it, we're not sure if the recipe is named directly after the Mile Davis album of the same name, but we're going to assume that it is. Sketches of Spain (the album) is just too famous for this cocktail to not have been named after it. And if you haven't listened to Sketches of Spain, perhaps it's time to.