With many different types of sherry, choosing the right one for the occasion can be difficult. Indeed, there are many fine sherries that you can buy from a selection of brands.
This guide will showcase the top 10 best sherry that you can buy online in the USA:
- Gonzalez Byass Apóstoles Sherry 30 Years
- Sandeman Don Fino Superior Sherry
- Gutierrez Colosía Oloroso Sherry
- Hartley & Gibson Sherry Fino
- Savory & James Amontillado Sherry
- Osborne Sibarita Oloroso Sherry
- Williams & Humbert Dry Sack Fino Sherry
- Lustau San Emilio Pedro Ximénez Sherry
- Sandeman Armada Superior Cream
- Valdespino Palo Cortado Jerez Sherry
Scroll down to see them all or jump ahead using the links above. We will also cover where to buy sherry below.
What Are The Best Sherry Brands?
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Related Wine & Spirits
If you’re new to this wine, we recommend that you read our guide on the different types of sherry before you continue. In this guide, we refer to the various styles and it may be easier to understand after learning some of the basics first!
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Gonzalez Byass
- Style: Palo Cortado
- Age: VORS (30 Years)
- ABV: 20%
- Pricing:
- From $55 [Buy On Drizly]
Palo Cortado sherry used to be an accidental result of the wine’s flor dying earlier than expected. However, some producers will recreate the phenomenon intentionally.
Apóstoles by Gonzalez Byass is an excellent example of the process but also combines other techniques. Indeed, it’s a blend of sweet Pedro Ximénez and dry Palomino grapes, which are aged separately and then together for an additional 18 years.
After over 30 years of ageing, the wine has earned a VORS classification, which results in concentrated dried fruits such as fig and prunes. Meanwhile, it delivers distinctive flavours of caramel and candied orange peel thanks to its long ageing.
"An affordable option for sampling a well-aged VORS sherry so you experience the wine's full ageing potential."
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Sandeman
- Style: Fino
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 15%
- Pricing:
- From $17 [Buy On Reserve Bar]
- From $17 [Buy On Drizly]
Although best known for producing port wine in Portugal, Sandeman also makes noteworthy sherry in Spain. After spending an average of 5 years in the Solera under a layer of flor, the wine is a pale yellow colour with a wonderfully aromatic and crisp flavour.
Despite its premium name, it’s quite affordable and presents itself as an excellent sherry to try if you want to experience a classic Fino for the first time.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Bodegas Gutiérrez Colosía
- Style: Oloroso
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 18%
- Pricing:
- From $27 [Buy On Drizly]
If you want to try an Oloroso sherry, Gutiérrez Colosía makes a great one worth trying. Its 5-year oxidative ageing period produces a dark caramel and almost mahogany-coloured colour.
Expect intense flavours of walnut, treacle, and dried figs. As a classic Oloroso sherry, its nose is sweet but it’s perfectly dry on the palate with a low level of acidity.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Pedro Rodriguez e Hijos
- Style: Fino
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 17%
- Pricing:
- From $14 [Buy On Drizly]
Produced by Pedro Rodriguez e Hijos, Hartley & Gibson’s Fino is a cheap yet cheerful Fino. At 17% ABV, it’s quite strong compared to most Fino sherries. Nevertheless, the alcohol bloom is surprisingly subtle.
It has notes of biscuit and soy sauce as well as a green apple fruitiness and a characteristically aldehydic profile. While not exactly a premium option, it’s a great one for the price and a good option for cooking, too.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Bodegas Valderrama
- Style: Amontillado
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 20%
- Pricing:
- From $13 [Buy On Drizly]
Savory & James sourced this sherry from Bodegas Valderrama, which is distributed throughout the USA. Like Hartley & Gibson, it’s an affordable option and presents itself as a great way to cheaply sample a classic Amontillado sherry.
As you’ll learn in our guide to making sherry, Amontillado sherry starts off as a Fino and is then refortified to undergo oxidative ageing like Oloroso. The result is a combination of yeasty and nutty flavours.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Boedgas Osrborne
- Style: Oloroso
- Age: VORS (30 Years)
- ABV: 20%
- Pricing:
- From $115 [Buy On Drizly]
An exceptional sherry, Sibarita is produced using a Solera of 106 butts that has been active since 1792! Therefore, it yields exceptionally old wine that has earned the VORS classification.
Given the age of the Solera, it’s a very rare and quite prestigious option. Therefore, it’s also quite expensive. However, you will be hard pressed to easily find such an excellent example of VORS-aged sherry.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Williams & Humbert
- Style: Fino
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 15%
- Pricing:
- From $18 [Buy On Drizly]
Dry Sack is a throwback to the height of sherry’s popularity in the United Kingdom. “Sack” was a general term with Arabic roots for exported wine but quickly came to be synonymous with sherry.
Known as Fino Pando in other countries, it has a balanced bouquet of sweet pear and green almonds. Expect a yeasty finish with a fresh and crisp texture.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Lustau
- Style: Pedro Ximénez
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 17%
- Pricing:
- From $30 [Buy On Drizly]
Sweet Pedro Ximénez sherries can be remarkably confusing as not all of them are solera-aged and there are many vintages. However, if you’re after a classic PX sherry, Lustau is a solid choice.
Spending an average of 12 years in the Solera under oxidative ageing, the San Emilio blend has an almost black, ebony hue. Its bouquet delivers remarkably sweet notes of dried figs and dates with a velvety mouthfeel and long finish.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Sandeman
- Style: Cream (Oloroso)
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 20%
- Pricing:
- From $17 [Buy On Reserve Bar]
- From $17 [Buy On Drizly]
Armada is a classic cream blend produced by blending oloroso sherry and Pedro Ximénez. As a result, it’s a quintessentially English sherry with a sweet yet full-bodied character.
If you want to try a cream to get a feel for what it tastes like, Armada is a great option. While Pale Creams are a somewhat acquired taste, Oloroso Creams tend to be far easier to sample if you don’t yet know what to expect.
- Country of Origin: Spain
- Bodega: Valdespino
- Style: Palo Cortado
- Age: N/A
- ABV: 20%
- Pricing:
- From $50 [Buy On Drizly]
While we opened on a rather rare and exceptional Palo Cortado, Valdespino produces one that is far more conventional. One of the oldest Bodegas in Jerez, Valdespino is the fruit of several generations of experience.
Valdespino uses “viejo” or old Pago Macharnudo Alto vines to produce its Fino, which is then sprayed with older wines, which interrupt the flor. The Palo Cortado will then spend an average of over 20 years in the solera before being bottled.
Where To Buy Sherry
Unless you live in the United Kingdom or southern Spain, sherry is surprisingly elusive! While you may find the odd bottle in most grocery or liquor stores, the options tend to be rather limited.
The chances are that you’ll properly be able to choose between a Fino or Oloroso sherry. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to find anything that truly represents the diversity of what is produced in the Jerez region.
For instance, we’re normally very fond of Reserve Bar yet the only options on offer were the two Sandeman sherries among its selection or port. Fortunately, they’re both excellent sherries but it goes to show the limited understanding of the fortified wine.
Otherwise, Wine.com has a better selection and you should be able to choose between half a dozen different sherries. Nevertheless, it tends to retail more premium options rather than everyday classic Solera blends.
Finally, Drizly is probably one of your best bets. As you may have seen in the list above, all of the sherries were found there. The only downside with Drizly is that its results vary depending on where you live.
Drizly partners with local liquor stores who handle the orders and deliver the alcohol directly to your door. Therefore, it’ll give you a good idea of what is available locally but people in isolated areas may not get many results.
Can You Cook With Drinking Sherry?
There are many people who don’t necessarily buy sherry to drink it but to cook with it instead! You can cook with just about any sherry depending on the dish that you’re preparing.
Since dry sherry has a tendency to be quite briny in flavour, consider skipping the salt when cooking with it. Conversely, desserts or starters prepared with sweet sherry won’t need as much sugar if any at all.
It’s usually better to cook with cheaper sherry since you won’t necessarily benefit much from using a premium wine. However, it’s also a great way of using up any that has been open for slightly too long.
Finally, a dish that has been cooked with sherry doesn’t always have to be accompanied by it. You can instead opt for regular white table wine. Nevertheless, consider pairing sherry with your meal to explore a new sensory experience!
What Next?
Now that you have read about the best sherry brands, why don’t you check out more of our resources?
What’s your favorite dry Sherry?
Definitely the Williams & Humbert Fino we mentioned here!
Rafael