Throughout 2020’s slew of Zoom glad hours, the place less-than-ideal circumstances and solitary celebrations led many to flip to lower- and zero-proof drinks, Natasha Bermudez had an concept.
The bar supervisor at New York’s Llama Inn and Llama San had been enjoying round with sherry within the 50/50 Martini template—“it normally turns into extra of a 50/25/25 recipe,” she clarifies—however discovered herself wanting a Margarita one night time. With mezcal in a single hand and a sherry she had been experimenting with within the different, she developed what she calls a 50/50 Margarita.
Bermudez’s 50/50 Margarita splits the bottom of the drink between mezcal and manzanilla sherry, with an oz of every. “I believe nearly all of nonindustry people are a bit petrified of sherry as a result of all they know of it’s [that it’s] candy and dense,” says Bermudez. “In fact, it may be, however you may even play with that in your cocktails.” Manzanilla, one of many driest sherries (and, by extension, one of many driest wines on this planet), is significantly nice for mixing, imparting a contact of acidity and minerality to drinks. With their citrusy-salty taste, Margaritas current the right automobile for the fortified wine.
Although the agave basic is an apparent selection for this method, Bermudez—who incorporates a 50/50 Gibson, made with gin and sake, at Llama San and a Martini constructed on a mixture of gin and sherry on the forthcoming Llama Inn Madrid—says the strategy can be utilized in nearly any cocktail for complexity and to decrease the proof. Turning to fortified wines or lower-ABV spirits that match the unique taste profile of the drink is essential. For instance, she says, a nutty oloroso sherry might complement rum in a Piña Colada, or a Paper Aircraft could possibly be made with shochu and amontillado sherry as an alternative of higher-proof whiskey and amaro. “I believe the choices could possibly be limitless,” she says. “You simply must drink extra sherry to see what you want.”
