As the weather cools and we head into the holiday season, cocktails are taking a seasonal twist with classic fortified wines like Port, Sherry, and Madeira. The deep flavors offered by these powerful beverages create boldness while minding the overall alcohol by volume of a drink, which plays nicely into the ongoing trend of low abv cocktails. Each category of fortified wine has something uniquely delicious to offer, and while the list of fortified wines extends beyond, these three major players are a good place to start.

Sherry, the famous wine from Jerez, Spain is the most diverse of the fortified wines. Sherry comes in a variety of styles from bone dry with salty and bitter complexity in the clear Fino and Manzanilla styles, to super sticky sweet for the PX wines which are best used in place of simple syrup for added depth. In between there are the middle ground wines like Amontillado, Oloroso and Palo Cortado, which offer varying levels of mostly dry nuttiness, dried fruit, and spice flavors that have a seemingly infinite finish.

Port, from Portugal, has an iconic heritage and almost cult-like following among those who enjoy a good bottle. Using Port in cocktails can be the best way to offer this wine on your menu since, contrary to popular belief, the wine starts to degrade after it is opened like any other wine. Serving Port by the glass is a dangerous game, often times leading to the waste of a half full bottle, unless you can find another use for it, like in your cocktail program! With supple tannins and balanced sweet richness, Port adds instant holiday cheer to recipes as well as vibrant shades of red.