Sabrage or also known as sabering is a renowned technique by taking out the cork together with the lip of the bottle using a champagne saber or a champagne sword. It has been said that such art has been popularized by the warriors from the past. Since, they badly need a drink of such a good wine, these warriors improvised with the use of their primary weapon the saber. Today, you can witness a beheading of a bottle on several occasions. Though it might be dangerous and difficult as it seems, all that it takes is a little bit of practice.
Setting Up the Bottle and Tools
- There is one thing you have to keep in mind before practicing or performing this art. You need to use the right tool when beheading the bottle of champagne. I’m pretty sure you saw several videos on Youtube that shows sabering the bottle using a kitchen knife, spoon or something pretty much hard.
- Though it seems like these tools are effective, no other tool can make it better and perfect for the use of a champagne sword or champagne saber. Why did you ask? Because champagne saber/sword is crafted for the purpose of champagne sabering.
- A kitchen knife is for cutting meat, a spoon is for serving food and champagne saber is used for sabering. That makes a lot of sense correct?
Understanding the Champagne Bottle
- Different champagnes have their own unique type of bottles. Regardless whether you are going to perform using vintage, non-vintage champagnes or bubbly wines, they all got the same weak spot and this is the seam. This is where you are going to slide the blade.
- A single bottle of champagne creates 35 pounds of force because of the carbon dioxide. Therefore, it only requires a few amounts of force to make the cork to fly off. Applying much force can cause the bottle to crack or break.
- It is highly suggested by the expert to chill the bottle, but not ice-cold. This affects the pressure from the inside which makes it easier. Of course, you need to remove the foil before sliding the blade from the seam to the lip.
- Often times, for some reasons, the cork itself flies off as soon as you remove the wire. It is wise to put your thumb over the cork for support before removing the wire. This prevents the cork flies off and screws your epic moment.
The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For
- Now it is time for you to perform this art. Make sure to find an open space. There are some cases where the cork flies away for about twenty feet or even more so, hence make sure to give yourself and the audiences plenty of space.
- Never point the bottle to someone or to places where there are plenty of fragile pieces of stuff. Hold the bottle firmly with 30-degree angle facing upward.
- Rest the blade from the neck of the bottle and by all means practicing the motion can help you to do this correctly. You will get the best result when you follow these simple steps. In case that you find your first attempt is a total failure, you should go back practicing.
Checking the Bottle
- Before serving the good wine, it is best to inspect the bottle and let the bubbles remove the shards. The pressure already removed the shards, but you can never be too careful when doing so. Finally, keep the bottle elsewhere safe and try to dispose of it as soon as possible.