FOR SOME, Port drinking remains confined to that festive period stretching from late November through December, with its roaring fires, richly laid tables and throwback dining and drinking customs. For others, the lush and fruity fortified wine from the Douro region of Portugal is more a cozy, vaguely literary notion than a realistic drinking option. Traditionally served as an after-dinner drink paired with cheeses or chocolates, Port’s popularity has waned in recent decades as younger drinkers have gravitated toward stronger, dryer postprandial tipples.  Lately, though, Port has found a second wind as a cocktail ingredient. Bartenders are discovering that it offers many of the same flavor characteristics that make vermouth and Sherry so attractive for mixing, along with enough natural sweetness to replace the simple syrup commonly used in cocktails.  “I think the first time I used Port in a cocktail was around 2008, when bartenders were beginning to play with the wine component of cocktails much more,” said Matt Piacentini, owner of the Up & Up in New York. “I started noticing that for something a little richer and dryer than sweet vermouth, you could use tawny Port.”  According to Mr. Piacentini, Port was a popular cocktail ingredient in the 19th century, often used in drinks served warm. One of the best-known among these was the Bishop: a hot concoction of ruby Port, sugar, spices and orange slices. At the Up & Up, Mr. Piacentini uses a 10-year old tawny Port from Croft in a cocktail called By the Fireside, which combines the fortified wine with house-made coffee syrup, lemon and spices. The drink is served cold, but its flavors are meant to conjure the warming sensation of a heated cocktail.  Different varieties of Port offer their own unique flavor profiles. Tawny Ports, like the kind Mr. Piacentini uses, have a mellow sweetness and figgy, raisiny, dried-fruit flavors, and can be found in 10-, 20- and 40-year-old iterations.  Vintage Ports—those made exclusively from grapes of a declared vintage year and typically aged over a long period —are usually considered too dear to use in mixing. Ruby Port, a younger style, jammy and rich, can adds lots of body to a drink. At Kindred restaurant in Davidson, N.C., Blake Pope uses Quinta do Noval’s ruby Port to soften and sweeten a bracing combination of overproof rye whisky, lemon juice and the bitter Italian digestif Cynar, a drink he calls the Search & Rescue.  It’s also worth experimenting with white Port, a lesser-known style made from white grapes. Nutty and crisp—similar to a dry Sherry—it’s commonly served in Portugal with tonic water. At Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colo., Allison Anderson mixes Fonseca’s Siroco white Port with cranberry preserves, sparkling wine and amaretto in a light and bubbly aperitif that will brighten up a cocktail hour at any time of the year. And if you’d like to serve a little cheese alongside, well, that’s up to you.  Combine 1½ ounces rye whiskey, 1 ounce ruby Port, ½ ounce fresh lemon juice and ½ ounce Cynar in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake, then double strain into a Nick & Nora glass or a rocks glass. Serve.  —Adapted from Blake Pope of Kindred, Davidson, N.C.  Fill a highball glass with ice. Combine 2 ounces dry white Port such as Fonseca Siroco, 1 heaping tablespoon cranberry preserves and ½ ounce amaretto in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Add 3 ounces dry sparkling wine and double strain into prepared glass (some of the cranberry preserves will remain in the shaker). Garnish with a lemon twist and serve.  —Adapted from Allison Anderson of Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder, Colo.  Make coffee syrup: Add 4 tablespoons ground coffee to a French press and pour ½ cup boiling water over. Let steep 4 minutes and then depress plunger. Pour off ¼ cup coffee into a small bowl or cup and stir in 2 tablespoons sugar until fully dissolved.  Make drink: Fill a double Old Fashioned glass with ice. Combine 2 ounces 10-year tawny Port, ¾ ounce coffee syrup, ½ ounce fresh lemon juice, 3 dashes ground cinnamon and 2 dashes ground nutmeg in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake, then strain into prepared glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel and a cinnamon stick.  —Adapted from Matt Piacentini of the Up & Up, New York City  The Port used to make the Search & Rescue cocktail at Kindred restaurant in Davidson, N.C., is made by Quinta do Noval. In an earlier version of this article, the name of the maker was misspelled. (March 18, 2016)
The fustiest of after-dinner tipples is gaining new cred at cocktail bars around the country. Whether tawny, ruby or white, this fortified wine brings depth and richness to all kinds of drinks—including these three make-at-home recipes.