I hope Compton Mackenzie will forgive me for hijacking the title of his 1947 novel about whisky ship-wrecked off a group of remote Scottish islands during the Second World War, just as the inhabitants were running out. These sherries were washed ashore in a more sedate environment – the annual BFT (big fortified tasting) in London earlier this year – but I am sure I enjoyed them as much as the islanders did their whisky.
As explained in the introduction to our recent Sweet and strong assemblage, the BFT is a such an extensive and wonderful tasting that you...