Bar Rioja

Sherry is cool. Few people fully appreciate this and so not only can geeks revel in their superior knowledge, but there is also a wonderful satisfaction derived from converting previous sceptics to the cause. If you want a venue in which to do it, look no further than Bar Pepito. The owner behind the venture (and also the Camino mini-chain, one of which sits opposite, in the trendy King’s Cross quarter) has been a backer of the sherry cause for over a decade. Bar Pepito is his effective love-child, a tiny space modelled accurately on the bodegas of southern Spain. Low lighting, mood music and wonderful wall decorations all add to the authenticity. Your reviewer has been an intermittent visitor for the last ten years but was lucky enough to spend an evening at Bar Pepito recently tasting through a full flight of sherries paired expertly with tapas. Things kicked off with a Spanish sparkling that is not allowed to call itself Cava, partly because its grapes sit outside the formally denominated region, but also because sherry (rather than sugar) is added by way of dosage. The effect is a bone-dry drink with a nutty subtlety. With this to whet the palate, the bar was set high. Next up – and a similarly virtuoso piece of drinks theatre – was a sherry-based cocktail. Take the concept of whisky sour, add oloroso and – hey-presto – you have an exciting drink, garnished beautifully with a maraschino cherry. Onto the sherry, and we sampled seven, from the bone dry with barely any oxidation through to the richly decadent Pedro Ximinez finisher. What makes sherry work in general terms is its sheer versatility. The acidity inherent in the drink cuts through both fatty and spicy flavours. Perhaps most inspired was an amontillado paired with a flavoursome morcilla (black pudding) accompanied by algería peppers. Oloroso was a superb match for ox cheek and probably the most structured and least sticky Pedro I have ever sampled served as a perfect foil for a blue cow’s cheese. Each dish was competently executed and beautifully presented. If the above description is not incentive enough, then consider that sherry is arguably the most undervalued alcoholic drink in the world. You can eat and drink well at Bar Pepito at a reasonable cost. What’s not to like, especially if you can impress your friends into the bargain too.