Port and sherry don’t seem, at first glance, like the most obvious ingredients for a cocktail. Port is a sweet fortified wine from Portugal and is most commonly served as a dessert wine. Sherry is likewise a fortified wine from Spain and is probably seen by a lot of people as a relic from our grandparents’ days. But I’m here to tell you that both of these are pretty great, and they’re even better when combined in a fall cocktail: the Left Bank Cider. – Andrew
Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper
1 oz Dry Sherry
1 oz White Port
1 oz Apple Cider
3/4 oz St-Germain
1 Dash Lemon Juice
Combine with ice and shake gently. Pour into a tumbler, ice and all, and enjoy!
UPDATE: If you want to make a large batch of Left Bank Cider for a fall holiday party, here’s a supersize recipe you can use!
1 Bottle White Port (750 ml or about 3 cups)
1 Bottle Dry Sherry (750 ml or about 3 cups)
3 Cups Apple CiderÂ
2 1/3 Cups St-Germain
3-6 oz Lemon Juice, to taste
Â
Combine in a pitcher with plenty of ice and give everything a good stir. This should give you 11-12 cups of Cider, or about 20-25 servings.
 
There are a lot of flavors working together in this drink: the nutty, oaky sweetness of the port and sherry; the floral sweetness of the St-Germain; and the sweet autumn fruitiness of the apple cider. A little bit of lemon juice – no more than an eighth or maybe a quarter of an ounce – provides some acidity to cut through all of that sweetness. It’s one of those rare drinks that both Nole and I love, despite our very different cocktail tastes.
The Left Bank Cider is something of a love child of two fantastic drinks: Derek Brown’s (and DC’s own)Â Robert Frost cocktail, one of the first drinks we ever featured, and the classic Stone Fence, the most perfect cider cocktail out there. Goes to show you: if you love two different drinks, try mashing them up and see if you have a new amazing drink on your hands.
 
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
This post is brought to you in collaboration with St-Germain. All content, photos, recipes, and words are our own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!
