Carol Ann Duffy

It's old news now, but chosen as Poet Laureate in 2009, Carol's payment was, as tradition dictates, a butt of Sherry. She chose to receive it in the form of bottles of Manzanilla and Fino (from Lustau). Here is a picture of her signing a butt in Jerez:

And here is her poem about Jerez:

At Jerez 

Who wouldn't feel favoured, 
at the end of a week's labour, 
to receive as part-wages 
a pale wine 
that puts the mouth in mind of the sea ... 

and not gladly be kissed 
by gentle William Shakespeare's lips, 
the dark, raisiny taste of his song; 
bequeathed to his thousand daughters and sons, 
the stolen wines of the Spanish sun... 

or walk the cool bodegas' aisles - 
where flor and oxygen 
grow talented in fragrances and flavours ­ 
to sniff, sip, spit, swallow, savour... 

Carol Ann Duffy 

She has donated a few bottles to charity for fundraising purposes, for example to a school and to a university. Her bottles have a special label with her poem on the back label. This one was auctioned  for charity.

Sherry and the Poets Laureate

Only the finest practitioners of verse will be rewarded with Sherry!

Carol Ann Duffy is the current Poet Laureate (as of 2009 and the first woman) and her reward for the post is a butt of Sherry. I met her after a reading in Aberdeen the night before she left for Jerez to select her wine.

Obviously, a butt (500/600 litres) is a wonderful thing, but not the easiest to deal with, so she was getting the equivalent in bottles. Unfortunately for the whisky trade, Sherry hasn't been exported in bulk since the 1970's. The seasoned barrels were used to age whisky, but the Consejo Regulador de la Denominacion de Origen (the body which controls Sherry production) ruled that Sherry be bottled at source.

The notion of Poets Laureate dates back to ancient Greece where Bards and Heroes were garlanded with a laurel wreath. Since then the meaning has moved on to cover people who are masters of their art (eg Nobel Laureates). For centuries Kings of England, and later Britain, appointed more or less official Poets Laureate, whose job was to write verse celebrating subjects like royal events or victories. Their salary was meagre, being a part-time post. The first to receive wine (as opposed to a few shillings) was Geoffrey Chaucer, who received a butt of Canary Sack in 1389.

The office became more official with the appointment of John Dryden in 1670, and the butt of Sherry (or Scheris Sack) tradition continued for a long time before falling into disuse when money was given. The tradition was revived by Sir John Betjeman in 1972 and has prevailed again to the present day. If only I were a poet!

Soon we'll discuss the Sack Trade.