Bristol Cream sherry
Photo: Té y kriptonita · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Bristol's merchants shipped Spanish wine up the Avon from the Middle Ages, and by the 1700s the city's cellars were blending their own styles. Bristol Milk came first; in 1882 Harveys christened a richer blend Bristol Cream, and the blue bottle became one of Britain's most exported drinks. The cellars under Denmark Street bottled it for generations, and the city's tapas bars still keep the sherry habit alive.

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Common allergens: Sulphites

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 5 minTotal 5 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 150ml cream sherry, chilled
  • Ice cubes
  • 2 slices of orange
  • A few drops of Angostura bitters, optional

Method

  1. Chill the sherry thoroughly; the modern serve is cold, not room temperature.
  2. Fill two tumblers with ice and pour 75ml of sherry into each.
  3. Add a slice of orange to each glass, pressing it lightly against the ice to release the oils.
  4. Finish with a drop of bitters if you like a drier edge, and serve as an aperitif.

Tip from the editors. Serve it over ice with orange rather than warm from the sideboard; chilling tightens the sweetness and turns a dusty digestif into an aperitif.

Where to eat bristol cream sherry

Bristol Cream sherry in Bristol

Bravas ★ 4.4

££ Spanish tapasCotham

Bravas has run its candlelit Cotham Hill tapas bar since before Bristol's small-plates boom, sending staff on yearly trips to Spain to research suppliers.

OrderTortilla, boquerones and the croquette of the day, with a glass of fino.

TipWindow seats and the bar are held for walk-ins, so turn up early rather than despairing at the online book.

Directions

Gambas ★ 4.3

££ Spanish tapasWapping Wharf

Gambas cooks seafood-first Spanish tapas above the harbour at Wapping Wharf in Bristol, a Valencia-inspired sister venue to Cotham Hill's Bravas.

OrderThe signature monkfish and sobrasada Valencian rice, with gambas pil pil to start.

TipRun by the same husband-and-wife team as Bravas; the upper-deck terrace looks straight down the Floating Harbour.

Directions

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