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How to Safely Saber a Bottle of Champagne in 10 Steps
Even though it looks violent to saber a bottle of Champagne, it’s actually very simple (and safe to pull off when done properly). If you want to saber Champagne safely and effectively, you will need a 12-inch, blunt-edge Champagne saber or a chef’s knife with some weight, and some protective glasses.
- Put on the protective glasses.
- Remove any wiring or wrappers from your cork.
- Plunge the neck of the bottle into an ice bucket filled with water until it’s very cold.
- When ready to saber, cradle the bottle at waist level with your less dominant hand at a forty-five-degree angle with the top of the bottle tilted upwards.
- Take the saber or chef’s knife and run it along the body of the bottle to get a feel for it. The sharp edge should be facing your body.
- Proper Champagne bottles should have a visible seam along both sides of the bottle. This is what you’re looking for: the landing strip for your saber, where the seam of the bottle meets the lip of the bottle.
- Point the bottle away from any person or valuable possession, and hold the knife flat against it.
- Slide the backside of the knife along the seam toward the cap of the bottle in one fluid motion, following through past the cap.
- Once you make a clean break, let the Champagne flow out a little to ensure any remaining shards of glass are washed out of the bottle’s neck.
- Grab your glasses and serve.
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