Terrible Wine Names

Is that what they cure, or what they cause

So Dry Sack is Dry Sherry:

So Dry Sack is approaching its 100th year anniversary. What about Williams & Humbert's origins? Well, note that our 1971 label reads "Jerez and London." (Jerez is the southern Spanish town where Sherry originated.) Alexander Williams married Amy Humbert in England in 1875. Amy came complete with cash (dad's) and a hard-working brother, Arthur Humbert. The young groom put both to work immediately. Only one year later Alexander and Amy were living in Jerez, shipping sherry to Arthur in London. Two more years and they shipped the equivalent of 25,000 cases. Only three more years and they shipped the equivalent of HALF A MILLION cases! Twenty four years later the next generation of the two families sold the first Dry Sack.

The first shipment to England of what would become Spain's most famous wine was labelled "Vino de Jerez, Seco." In London, "Jerez" was Anglicized to "sherry," and "seco" became "Sack." By Shakespeare's time, "sack" was a synonym for "sherry." Williams & Humbert have the sole rights to use "sack" commercially in the name "Dry Sack." (Grossman's Guide, 1964)