U.S.S. Wondrich

The U.S.S. Wondrich is Jeff "Beachbum" Berry's tribute to David Wondrich, the cocktail historian behind Imbibe! and a longtime Punch contributor, built for Berry's New Orleans tiki bar Latitude 29. Berry designed it as what he calls an "intermission drink": a lower-proof pour meant to be sipped between full-strength cocktails rather than compete with them, a habit Wondrich is known for. Per Punch's own write-up of the recipe, the name carries a second, more specific nod — Wondrich was reportedly the first guest to order a sherry-based drink at Latitude 29. Structurally it's a tiki-inflected riff on the Adonis (sherry, sweet vermouth, orange bitters), with a chocolate-orange liqueur standing in for extra weight and pineapple juice pulling it toward the tropical side of the menu.

An Intermission Drink, Named for a Historian

Latitude 29 is Jeff Berry's own tiki bar in New Orleans, and David Wondrich is a real, well-documented figure in cocktail history — author of Imbibe!, a longtime drinks writer, and one of the field's most cited researchers. Berry's stated reasoning for both the drink's existence and its name is corroborated across Punch, Saveur, and Difford's Guide: it's a genuine bar in-joke with real history behind it, not a Difford's-only attribution.

The idea of an "intermission drink" is Berry's own framing — something lower-proof to serve a guest between two full-strength tiki cocktails so the night doesn't turn into a blur. Sherry, at roughly 17-20% ABV before it's cut further with vermouth and juice, does that job better than anything else behind a tiki bar.

The Spec

Amontillado sherry and sweet vermouth are the Adonis backbone; a chocolate-orange liqueur (Berry's original calls for Sabra, an Israeli chocolate-orange liqueur, with allspice dram as his own suggested substitute) adds richness, and pineapple juice gives it just enough tropical lean to belong on a tiki menu.

Sherry as the lead, not a rinse

Tiki bars usually treat sherry as a float or rinse — the Fog Cutter's sherry cap is the classic example. Here it's the base spirit at a full ounce and a half, which is exactly what makes the drink read as a genuine change of pace rather than another rum cocktail.

Sabra, or allspice dram in a pinch

Sabra is a spicy-bitter-sweet Israeli chocolate-orange liqueur that's genuinely hard to find outside specialty shops. Berry's own suggested substitute, allspice dram (pimento liqueur), keeps the warm spice note even without the chocolate, and is the more realistic bottle for most home bars.

Bottom Line

The U.S.S. Wondrich is a rare case in tiki: a low-proof, sherry-forward drink with a documented reason for existing and a documented reason for its name, built by a working bar owner as a genuine palate reset between the heavier stuff on his own menu.