The Gitane Cobbler Sherry cocktail at Gitane restaurant in San Francisco, Calif., on January 9, 2009. (Photo by Craig Lee/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Food - Drink
Sherry Cobbler: The Cocktail Made Famous By Charles Dickens
By KAREN HART
Sherry cobbler is a delicious cocktail that was invented in the United States around the 1820s; at one point, it was the most popular drink in the newly-minted country. When English writer Charles Dickens visited America, he was so taken with the cocktail that he integrated it into his novel "The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit."
What made the sherry cobbler special was the ingredients used to make it — sherry, ice, and sugar, polished off with orange slices and berries — and the straw used to drink it. Sherry was once considered to be quite fancy, and the dry amontillado sherry used in the cocktail has a compelling savory and nutty flavor.
The ice also made the drink very refreshing, and ice in drinks was a novel and popular concept. The sherry cobbler was also the first cocktail in Western society to use a straw, which was made of reeds; Dickens wrote in his novel, "Martin took the glass with an astonished look; applied his lips to the reed; and cast up his eyes once in ecstasy."
To make your own sherry cobbler, all you need is sherry, simple syrup, ice, and orange slices. Simply muddle the orange with the simple syrup, add the sherry and ice, shake, strain, and serve — of course, you can add berries and a sprig of fresh mint as a garnish if you're feeling fancy, and a modern plastic or metal straw is a must.