Please note, Sack is now closed (Time Out editors, Sep 2019)
Sherry; it’s an acquired taste. Sack’s bar manager, Marianne, agrees but also insists it’s on its way to becoming the new gin in the capital. That’s why the Napoleon Hotel has dedicated one of its three bars to the Spanish tipple. They’ve even named it after the original English word for sherry, sack. Formerly Alexander’s chip shop, the space is now light and airy with a Mediterranean feel – a perfect reproduction of a cool Andalucian bodega.
There are around twenty types of the fortified wine. They’re backed up by more wine, cocktails, Spanish lagers and ciders, which most people seemed to have opted for around the room – there for the vibe rather than the main attraction, perhaps. Basic tapas – olives, bread and oil, ham and cheese – were reasonable but not particularly spectacular.
But back to the reason I’d visited: the sherry. My companion’s drink disappeared as if he’d just heard the bell for last orders, while mine tasted like chewing on wooden furniture and so I sipped at it accordingly. I whined and pushed the glass around long enough that eventually we were given samples of a lighter offering, and once the sherry was really flowing all glasses were gone in a few gulps. It’s an acquired taste indeed, but Sack looks to have gained another regular.