Sabering champagne – opening the champagne bottle with a sabre – is an elegant and classic way to open New Year’s champagne. It’s also a great way to secure a ticket to the emergency room just when the doctors are least in the mood to clean up after your failed party trick.
As a gentleman, it is at least as acceptable to open the champagne in a discreet way as well. But if you’re going to go for it, at least read our guide before you start.
Where does the tradition of sabering come from?
Sabration comes from the French sabre , sabre. Like many things about champagne, there is a link between Napoleon and champagne. The practice of sabering emerged during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. Probably a few swordsmen had tried it earlier than that, but because the quality of champagne bottles and their contents before the 19th century was so uneven, those experiments probably often ended in a broken bottle.
Exactly how the sabre originated is the subject of several myths. What we do know is that the sabre was an originally Turkish invention, which became standard equipment for the Hungarian hussars, a form of light cavalry. The hussars were used for reconnaissance and quick attacks. Starting as mercenaries, hussar regiments became common in many European armies.
Napoleon had a fondness for champagne that started at a young age and he often visited Champagne. During the Napoleonic Wars, several battles took place in northern France, including the Battle of Reims in 1814. Somewhere here, the sabres of the hussars met the noble drink and a new tradition emerged. Perhaps the horse-borne hussars simply found it easier and neater to pop the cork when some happy villager handed them a bottle? Or was it that Russian or Prussian hussars raiding champagne became frustrated with the little net the French had placed over the cork and simply cut it off with their sabres?
The most romantic legend holds that the art of sabering champagne originated with officers who courted Madame Cliquot. She had been widowed at the age of 27 and had inherited a trading house with banking, wool trading and champagne production which naturally suited a young officer perfectly. Was the sabering a way to impress the widow during convenient overnight stays at the vineyard? We doubt it – Madame Cliquot seems to have been a very energetic woman and if anyone invented sabering in her house, it was probably her.
Either way, the tradition spread along with the champagne and became both a party trick and a record. Right now, the record for sabering champagne stands at 66 bottles of champagne in one minute. A not entirely harmless record, as a previous record attempt ended in 75 stitches after a bottle exploded.
The champagne sabre and other tools for sabering champagne
First we need to clear up a common misunderstanding: in sabering, you don’t cut off the head of the bottle, you knocking of it. By hitting the “lip” at the top of the bottle, you create a crack. The high pressure in the champagne bottle does the rest. That’s why you don’t need and shouldn’t use a sharp tool – it doesn’t have to be a sword at all (we’ll come back to the alternatives). On the contrary, a blunt side, such as the back of a kitchen knife, makes it easier to hit the right spot.
If you want to follow the tradition to the letter, you should use a brass-handled cavalry sabre, such as those carried by the French hussars. Such a sabre is barely a meter long and rather impractical to wield in a crowd. This is why most champagne sabres sold are considerably shorter. While the Hussars carried sharp sabres, champagne sabres are blunt and often look like a beautiful bread knife.
There are alternatives. Because of the physics of sabering, you can use a variety of objects – from champagne glasses (but watch out for damage to the glass) to screwdrivers and cable clips:
Can you sabotage any sparkling drink?
Since sabering relies on the pressure inside the bottle, you need a drink with high pressure. Champagne and other drinks made with methode champenoise or method traditionelle such as crémant. Prosecco is made by a different method and is not as suitable.
The former record holder for sabering champagne, Julio Chang, also recommends choosing dark glass bottles which are often more durable.
How to sabre champagne properly
First, a warning: if you’re too drunk to drive, you’re too drunk to sabotage champagne. If you haven’t done it before, don’t make the first sabering of your life at midnight.
Sabering is best done outdoors where you have a clear field of fire. Here’s how to do it:
- Kyl ner champagnen to a few degrees Celsius. Depending on the weather, an ice bucket or an extended period in a cold refrigerator may work well. Feel free to cool your neck further with ice before sabering. This is very important to avoid injury! Cooling reduces the pressure, which means you can avoid the bottle cracking or the contents foaming out.
- Place a towel over your arm so you can protect yourself and catch the foam. If you are a beginner or want to be extra safe, wear gloves and goggles.
- Remove the metal foil and basket that holds the cork in place, or unscrew it so that it is loose.
- Hold the bottle in one hand with your hand well down around the base of the bottle. This will keep your fingers well away from any shards of glass. Tilt the bottle slightly upwards so that the contents do not spill out after opening and never point a champagne bottle at anyone.
- Twist the bottle until one of the two ‘seams’ in the glass points upwards. This is where the glass is weakest and therefore easiest to break.
- Place the sabre along the glass . Tilt the blade slightly. Remember that it is easier with a blunt side, such as the back if you are using a kitchen knife. Aim for the lip of the bottle and double check that no one is in the way.
- Sweep the saber in a smooth and firm motion up to the lip. Hit past the cork without stopping – think golf ball or baseball bat. Voilá!
Slope the champagne – the breaking point is sharp and you can cut your mouth badly. Also, don’t forget to collect the cork and the mouth of the bottle.
