Sherry is as essential to American culture and drinks as Bourbon--it was the first wine to come to the Americas--but its history and use was previously obscured. I love that it's coming back but I also love that now I can sit in almost any cocktail bar and order a Sherry cocktail and they know what it is. Sherry is one of the most interesting and delicious things you can drink, so I drink it often. Forget about grandmas, people with their pinkies out and feeling like you have to learn a whole new language to enjoy it. You don't. You just have to try it and International Sherry Week is as good a time as any.
In the spring of 2015 he was named Chief Spirits Advisor for the National Archives in conjunction with their Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History exhibit. He travels the world learning and teaching about how drinking is an integral part of our culture and values.
While he’s made drinks at the White House, been featured in the Wall Street Journal, drank with Martha Stewart, was recently named Imbibe Magazine's 2015 Bartender of the Year, and was nominated for a James Beard Award among his many accolades, Derek will tell you that his simple greatest pleasure is introducing others to that great Manzanilla Pasada he had eating seafood ocean-side in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, or the small production XO Cognac he drank while taking a barge down the Charente with friends.
You can read his articles in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Entrepreneur magazine, among many other publications; visit his bars in Washington, D.C. and join him in his quest for better drinking by enjoying his favorite dram, a good whiskey.
My favorite pairing is Amontillado with Chinese food. I love the interplay of Amontillado and soy sauce especially.
Derek's favorite Sherry cocktail is the Adonis, but,
anything with Manzanilla and Yellow Chartreuse is rocking my world.
