Cream, the sweetest, darkest style of sherry (with the exception of px, which is even sweeter and darker) created expressly for the sweet-toothed British market by harveys of bristol. Bristol Milk was a style of sweet sherry sold successfully in the early 19th century by both averys and Harveys. The story goes that a lady visitor to the cellars in 1882, on tasting Harveys’ new, as yet unnamed, brand of sweet sherry observed, ‘If that is Milk, then this is Cream.’ Harveys Bristol Cream was thus named, and has become the most successful branded sherry in the world. This sweet style of sherry is eschewed by the Spaniards, for it is essentially the product of blending not necessarily very distinguished sherries with sweetening and colouring wines. Pale Cream was another highly successful sherry style launched, with huge initial success, by Croft in the 1970s. Most Pale Cream is essentially the same as Cream but with the colour removed, by charcoal or other treatments, although it may also be sweetened fino. Cream sherries generally have a residual sugar content that is the equivalent of 4.5 to 6.5 °baumé.
