Tasting evenings are an integral part of the offer and so the guys and girls of the house always invite brand ambassadors and experts to take over for an evening and guide through various products and bottlings. On Friday, it was finally my turn again to host the “Spanish Night”. In addition to my passion for enjoying pure spirits, I have also had a penchant for mixing these fine spirits for some years now, so I took the opportunity to welcome our guests with a Carlos Sour cocktail to get them in the mood for the evening. As I arrived at the proverbial “last minute” due to a flight delay, there was no time to lose and I got the shakers whirling. Jump to the recipe.
Berlin Bottle: our line-up
- Brandy 1866
- Osborne Fino Quinta
- Carlos I Amontillado
- Osborne Bailén Oloroso
- Carlos I Pedro Ximénez
- Osborne PX 1827
- Carlos I 1520
Brandy 1866 & Osborne Fino Quinta
While our guests turned their attention to their drinks, we started the first round of the Brandy de Jerez & Sherry Masterclass with Thekla: we served Brandy 1866. Like all the qualities tasted that evening, this Brandy de Jerez with Solera Gran Reserva is the highest level of classification of the brandy from the Sherry triangle. This premium brandy is made from a distillate of the “Airén” grape variety and is the only brandy in the world to be stored in a 16-stage solera! As all of these barrels previously contained Fino Sherry, it is only natural to consciously bring this pre-held liquid to the lips. Brandy 1866 was therefore flanked by an Osborne Fino Quinta Sherry de Jerez. A decidedly dry wine and very complex notes, above all the pronounced acidity, as well as herbal notes reminiscent of excellent balsamic vinegar.
Carlos I Amontillado & Osborne Bailén Oloroso
For the next round, we turned our attention to the next brandy, Carlos I Amontillado. It has a lot in common with its little brother Carlos I Solera Gran Reserva, i.e. the first four years of its maturation period. However, after this very beginning of its maturation in the so-called solera process, it receives a “finish” in the eponymous Amontillado cask, more precisely from the solera “La Honda”. This extra maturation gives the Carlos I Amontillado Brandy a drier taste with an initial sweetness, which then glides over nutty aromas and leather before ending in the dried fruit and cocoa typical of sherry casks.
At the same time, I wanted to offer our guests another sherry, the Osborne Bailén Oloroso Sherry. In contrast to Fino Sherry, an Oloroso always matures under the influence of air; this oxidative maturation not only gives the Oloroso a rich and dark color, but also a pronounced sweetness. This sweetness is also instrumental in the sweet taste of all Carlos I brandies, as the solera at Carlos I consists of Amontillado and Oloroso sherry casks.
Carlos I Pedro Ximénez & Osborne PX 1827
After a break with a rich buffet of Spanish tapas, freshly prepared on site by the Berlin Bottle team, our sweetest pairing of the evening followed: Carlos I Pedro Ximénez Brandy de Jerez and Osborne PX 1827 Sherry. Pedro Ximénez is the sweetest of all sherry varieties and lends the appropriately titled Carlos I PX the finest notes of dark dried fruit and cocoa, wrapped in rich caramel. Due to the full-bodied nature of the PX sherry, I asked my guests to only take a very small sip from the copita glass, purely for the sake of understanding, before returning to it at the end of the evening, as the finish is simply phenomenal and, above all, incredibly long.
Carlos I 1520
We still had the star of the evening ahead of us. Carlos I 1520 – a strictly limited edition brandy, usually just around 5,000 bottles per year and worldwide! This exquisite brandy is created by blending centuries-old soleras from the Osborne family’s private stock. Carlos I 1520 is created from hand-picked barrels of the soleras Gran Reserva Carlos I, Gran Reserva MD and Gran Reserva Gran Capitán. Cocoa and espresso, nuts and dried fruit are just some of the notes of this unique Brandy de Jerez.
Nightcap
So we had come to the end of our Spanish evening under the Osborne flag, but Thekla and I had already imagined in advance how wonderful this evening would be and such an abrupt end would not have been appropriate for the atmosphere. The guests were therefore able to enjoy the nightcap, a “Royal Espresso” cocktail. This drink is a twist on the globally popular “Espresso Martini”, a cocktail that Dick Bradsell once invented for Kate Moss. In our case, we replace the vodka in the recipe with Carlos I PX Brandy, which gives the drink a little more texture.
Before this blog post comes to its end and refers to the two drink recipes, I would like to thank our fantastic guests once again for the wonderful evening. Many thanks to the Berlin Bottle team as our hosts and Agnes of Reidemeister & Ulrichs for making it all possible.
Drink recipes for home-mixing
Carlos I Sour (twist of Whiskey Sour)
- 6cl Carlos I Solera Gran Reserva
- 3cl freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1.5 cl sugar syrup
- 1 egg white
Pour all ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously over ice, then strain into a tumbler over ice and garnish with a lemon zest
Royal Espresso (twist of Espresso Martini)
- 6cl Carlos I Pedro Ximénez
- 3cl freshly brewed espresso
- 3cl Borghetti espresso liqueur
- 1cl sugar syrup
Pour all ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously over ice, then strain into a pre-cooled coupe and garnish with three coffee beans
