Cobbler

Style

A cobbler is a wine or sherry drink shaken with sugar, poured over crushed ice and piled with fresh fruit.

Earliest known mention: 1838
Sherry: 2.5 oz (75 ml) in Difford's Sherry Cobbler
Ice: Crushed, filling the glass
Paper straw patented: 3 January 1888
Formula: 2.5 oz (75 ml) sherry or wine, 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) sugar syrup or sweet liqueur, a little fruit juice, shaken and served over crushed ice with fresh fruit

What cobbler means

Expect a long, fruit-heavy drink when you order a cobbler. It comes over crushed ice in a Collins glass or goblet, with a straw and a heavy garnish of fruit. You sip it through the straw as the crushed ice slowly melts into the wine.

The earliest known mention of a cobbler is from 1838. The base is sherry or another wine, not a spirit. Sugar or a sweet liqueur sweetens it, and a little fruit juice adds freshness. The Sherry Cobbler is the classic form, and it is the drink credited with making straws popular in the 1800s.

Many people assume a cobbler needs citrus juice. Classic cobblers use little or no citrus, and the fruit garnish supplies the fresh note. The name is thought to come from the small cobbles of ice used to chill the drink before machines made fine crushed ice.

How to make a cobbler

Shake the wine with sugar and a little fruit juice, strain it over packed crushed ice, then add fruit and a straw.

1.Add 2.5 oz (75 ml) sherry or wine, 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) sugar syrup or sweet liqueur, and a little fruit juice to a shaker with ice.
2.Shake well until the tin is cold.
3.Fine strain into a Collins glass or goblet packed with crushed ice.
4.Garnish heavily with seasonal fruit, berries and a mint sprig, and serve with a straw.

Cobbler compared

Cobbler shakerThe cobbler shaker is a three-piece tin said to take its name from the drink. This page covers the drink only.
Peach cobbler (dessert)Peach cobbler is a baked fruit dessert. Drinks with that name copy its flavors and are not cobbler-style drinks.
JulepA julep is spirit, sugar and mint, while a cobbler is usually wine-based, with fruit and little or no citrus.
SmashA smash muddles mint or fruit into a short spirit drink. A cobbler is long, wine-based and piled with fruit.

Examples

Sherry Cobbler
Whiskey Cobbler
Champagne Cobbler
Claret Cobbler
Hock Cobbler

Related terms

Ingredients

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Garçon explains every step as you make the drink.