Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry has been around for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, it was always brought out of the drinks cabinet for special occasions and offered to visiting lady guests. I grew up thinking it was very posh.

Many other drinks are available nowadays and I don't see sherry in many people's houses but it is a nice drink and makes a change from heavy spirits and lager. I find that a bottle lasts for ages, though, because I forget about it until Christmas time. I always have a sherry to see in the New Year, mainly because, as children, we were allowed a tiny little glassful to see in the New Year and it has happy memories. It must always be Harvey's Bristol Cream, though, which I consider the best available for a reasonable price. I paid £5.99 for the last bottle I purchased. You can get cheaper sherries but some of them can be really unpleasant and not worth wasting good money on.

Harvey's Bristol Cream comes in a very dark blue glass bottle with a blue label telling you the name and explaining that it is 'rich and full bodied' (a very good description, as it happens), and it also informs you that the contents have been made since 1796, so it has definitely stood the test of time and has become a traditional part of Britain.

The makers describe the sherry as ' a complex blend of some of Jerez's finest wines'. Jerez is in the province of Cadiz in south-west Spain. The blend results in a smooth and velvety drink with a warming, fruity and full-bodied taste. It is meant to be sipped from little glasses - I wonder if anyone uses proper sherry glasses any more? I must admit, I put mine away years ago because they seemed so old-fashioned. I shall get one out and have a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream tonight - it might help to warm me up in this Arctic weather we are having right now! Although I must add that the makers suggest that it is 'best served chilled in a wine glass', so perhaps I can leave my sherry glasses in the loft.

As well as being a delicious drink, Harvey's Bristol Cream is lovely in a fruit trifle - just add a small glass to the hot water when making the jelly, or soak the fruit in it. It can also be added to the water when stewing fruit. This not only tastes lovely, especially with yoghurt or icecream, but also makes the kitchen smell lovely!

The information on the back of the label informs us of the UK Government's safe drinking limits, which are 3 to 4 units a day for men, 2 to 3 units per day for us 'weaker' women. There is a graphic of an average-sized wine glass which holds 0.9 of a UK unit to let you know how many glasses you can safely drink. A whole bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream contains just over 13 units so drinking it in one go would definitely be considered binge-drinking! It is a very rich drink so not many people could sink a whole bottle in one sitting.

All in all, I recommend this sherry - I just keep forgetting it's there! It has a unique taste and, as a plus, it keeps for ages in the bottle, unlike wine or beer.

Cheers!