This is not your grandma's sherry

On March 19, Bar Pepito, London's first Andalusia-inspired sherry bar and possibly the city's tiniest bar, opens near King's Cross with the intent to 'demystify' sherry and make it 'accessible, authentic, cheeky and fresh.'

Richard Bigg, the owner of Bar Pepito and Camino (a restaurant that shares the courtyard in Varnisher's Yard), explained in an AudioBoo interview that Bar Pepito specializes in sherry and will always serve one beer as well as one seasonal sherry-cocktail. Bigg selected the sherries carefully to introduce the range from sweet to dry, and to not overwhelm novices, there are only 15 sherries on the menu, including "dry Finos and Manzanillas through to sweet Pedro Ximénez, as well as lesser-known styles such as Palo Cortado and Moscatel."

Bigg commented that Bar Pepito is "really, really tiny, you can fit about 40 thin people in there and 30 normal size people," he continued, "We want to make it really accessible and turn it on its head. We aren't interested in the old fashioned cream sherries and what your grandma drinks at the back of the cupboard - it has nothing to do with that. Fresh sherries served at the right temperature, in the right size glasses...a contemporary twist... keep it fun, fresh and funky."

The key to drinking sherry is food. And Bigg agrees: "Sherry is the best food matching wine there is," he said, and according to Decanter, a prestigious wine publication and site, Nacho del Campo, the chef from Camino, designed a cold food menu to heighten the sherry experience with classic Spanish dishes including, "pata negra jamón from Extremadura, jamón, olives, almonds and chorizos, regional cheeses and locally sourced fish and meat, like a Devon Crab salad." Bigg noted that the menu will continue to evolve. As with Camino the food is 100% sustainable.

"Another way to make it fun, we have flights of various categories of sherries, it can be quite complicated, we want to demystify and make it simple," said Bigg. Each flight includes three 50ml shots of sherry with an appropriate bite.

All of the sherry is available by the bottle or glass and a glass runs £3.50 (€3.85) to £7.75 (€8.53). There is also an Enomatic machine that preserves open bottles and dispenses perfect condition shot samples of sherry. The Enomatic is the latest trend in DIY bars, all you need is a pre-paid card and glass to begin your self-guided sherry tasting.

To see Bar Pepito's full menu: http://www.camino.uk.com/pepito

AudioBoo interview with Richard Bigg: http://audioboo.fm/boos/104424-bar-pepito-sherry-bar-chat-with-richard-biggs