Wine Box: Cabinet lurkers

What have cherry brandy, cheap cream sherry, a little-known spirit from Tunisia (it tasted good on holiday), ginger wine, vermouth and advocaat got in common? They all seem to lurk in the back of the drinks cabinet - often never to see the light of day again until they are out of date and undrinkable.

Yes, that's the plight of many unusual or party-style drinks. But why are we so wasteful? Bottle after bottle of decent gin, vodka and whisky both enter and leave the same cupboard with some haste, while these 'residuals' collect dust.

It's partly because many of these drinks are plain disgusting and should never have been bought in the first place (or given as a 'present'), and partly because fashion dictates we only drink them at certain times of the year. Put the cherry brandy and advocaat out for drinking at a summer barbecue and you may find fewer guests turn up at your next social whirl.

But they do have their uses. Cherry brandy and sherry are always good in trifle (and a teaspoon of even the most unappealing sherry gives a real kick to a Bloody Mary), ginger wine is terrific in some soups (try it alongside carrot and fennel), a hint of vermouth is essential for any decent martini mix (gin or vodka) and advocaat mixed hot with brandy and cream makes a lethal eggnog (in the Italian Alps it's called a Bombadino - not entirely inappropriate).

As for the Tunisian grog, Heaven alone knows. But there are some 'forgotten' drinks that are now almost essential for the modern gastronome.

Cr?me de Cassis, JB Allain (Majestic, £5.99). Vital stock for any serious wine lover, this rich blackcurrant liqueur is the key ingredient when a dash is added to white wine to make Kir. (Named after a Burgundian called Paul Kir who cleverly used the cassis trick to disguise some lesser Aligot? whites.) Real aficionados will, of course, have picked up a bottle of Cr?me de M?re (the blackberry equivalent) on their last trip sur la continent and serve it 'Royale', with champagne rather than cheap white wine.

Barbadillo Solear Extra Dry Manzanilla (Sainsbury's, £6.99). This is a really yeasty, mature and bready fino-style sherry made at the largest bodega in Sanlucar de Barrameda, where the coastal influences make the wine slightly salty and give it a more pungent aroma. Don't leave this at the back of the cupboard as it should be drunk fresh and chilled soon after the wine has been bottled. Perfect with a selection of tapas.

Pellegrino Marsala Superiore (Sainsbury's, £5.99). Sicily's local fortified wines from Marsala (no, not the stuff with chicken tikka) are often over-sweet. But this one is a dry style with much complexity and subtlety (Marco de Bartoli is the other maker to look out for). A fine digestif and essential for anyone who thinks they can cook Italian food.