How-to sabering

Do you have something to celebrate? Like a wedding or a birthday? Arm yourself with a champagne sabre! Sabering a bottle of champagne always looks very impressive. It is, without a doubt, the most festive way of opening a bottle of bubbly. Want to learn how to open a bottle with one of our champagne sabres (and impress your guests)? We love to help you out!

Step by step

In this topic we will tell you how to sabre a bottle of champagne. It is done in only a couple simple steps:

1. Remove the foil
2. Remove or loosen the wire cage, place it a little higher on the bottle and then tighten it again.
3. Find the welding line.
4. Place the bottle in your non-dominant hand, with your thumb in the hollow base of the bottle.The bottle rests on the four other, outstretched fingers of your hand.
5. Hold the champagne sabre in your dominant hand.
6. Practice the movement you are about to make: follow the welding line with the champagne sabre. Stop at the lip of the bottle.
7. Complete the movement, don't stop at the lip, but continue.

We will elaborate below.

What is sabering?

When you sabre a bottle of champagne, you remove the top part of the bottle (including cork). Because there is a lot of pressure on the bottle, this piece shoots off.The force is so high that no glass splinters end up in your drink.

One key condition when sabering a bottle of champagne, is that there is enough pressure inside the bottle. For a bottle of champagne this is 6 bar. The cork really pops when you knock it off. Because a bottle of prosecco only has 3 bar in terms of pressure, it is not suitable for sabering. A bottle of Cava does have enough pressure built up inside the bottle. But let's be frank here, sabering is most impressive if you use a bottle of champagne.

You use a champagne sabre to sabre a bottle. There are different models available on the market today. There are small, practical sabres you can easily carry with you. But more often a champagne sabre is an impressive 'sword' that is meant to stand out. Many people hang the sabre from the wall or place it somewhere as a decorative piece when it is not used. Because the edge is not sharpened, the sabre is not dangerous.

A champagne sabre simply looks amazing. And the blade is great for engravings. As such it is not surprising that it is a popular gift for special occasions. Would you like to give someone a champagne sabre from our range as a gift? We would love to engrave it for you!

Always use a bottle that is chilled at approx. 6 ˚C. The bottle is at the right temperature after having spent at least 3 hours in the fridge, or after having been placed in a bucket of ice for an hour. When you sabre a bottle of champagne, it is important to place the bottle upside down in a bucket of ice. You namely need to make sure the neck is nice and cold.

Ensure you are standing somewhere safe. The cork and a piece of neck will shoot from the bottle at high speed. As such you need to make sure no one is standing too close. We therefore advise you to sabre a bottle outside.

Now remove the foil from the bottle. The cork is often enhanced with a wire cage. You can choose to remove it completely, but we recommend loosening it, placing it a little higher on the bottle and then tightening it again. Why? Chances are the cork shoots from the bottle when you completely remove the wire cage. Which is, of course, something you want to avoid. It is, however, important to make sure the wire cage is located at the top of the glass lip. You want the sabre to hit the glass, not the wire.

Every bottle is enhanced with a vertical welding line that runs alongside the neck of the bottle. This is the place where both halves of the bottle were welded together. If you are right-handed, place the bottle in your left hand with the welding line facing upwards (if you are left-handed, place it in your right hand). You place your thumb in the hollow base of the bottle (the soul). The bottle rests on the four other, outstretched fingers of your hand. Make sure that the bottle lies comfortably in your hand at a 30 to 40-degree angle facing upwards.

Move your sabre alongside the bottle a few times. To get used to the movement, but also to make sure you are holding it the right way. It also allows you to see if there are any bumps on the bottle. You move your sabre over the welding line up to the raised edge of the lip.

Now it is time to sabre the bottle: repeat the movement, but now complete it. You don't have to hit too hard, as long as you use a controlled and flowing movement. You don't stop when you hit the raised edge, but continue until your arm is fully extended.

Keep holding the bottle at a 45-degree angle. If you namely put it up straight away, it will foam even more. This means you lose champagne, something you want to avoid!

Now it is time to pour the champagne. Cheers!