Image by © Darius Ramazani/zefa/Corbis

For those of you that have wanted to learn how to saber a bottle of bubbly, here’s your chance to learn from Small Screen Network’s Jamie Boudreau. It couldn’t be easier, but there are a few important steps you must take.

First, of course, is safety. Make sure the bottle isn’t pointed at anybody and that you don’t swing wildly with a knife and cut the person you’re supposed to be kissing at midnight.

Next, make sure the bottle is well-chilled, especially the neck. This will make the process easier and reduce the amount of spillage.

Lastly, if this is your first time, try it outside first or have some towels ready.

For weapon of choice, the back edge of a sturdy knife works well.

Jamie also recently opened a cocktail bar in Seattle called Canon and we can say without a doubt that it is most definitely Mutineer Approved.

Cheers!

Not sure what bubbly cocktails to make for New Years Eve? Try some of these:

Champagne Cocktail
From:The PDT Cocktail Book by Jim Meehan and Chris Gall.

Pour Champagne into a chilled flute. Add sugar cube. Garnish with a spiral lemon twist.

Note: Originally from the Bar-Tender’s Guide by Jerry Thomas, 1862. Per Meehan: “I recommend pouring the Champagne, then adding the bitters-soaked sugar cube so the wine doesn’t bubble over.”

The Ginger Royale

Pour a generous measure of The King’s Ginger into a flute. Add chilled Champagne to taste.

Kir Royale

Pour Champagne into a chilled flute. Add splash of Creme de Cassis, garnish with a lemon twist.

French 75

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with Champagne, add lemon twist.

Champagne Flamingo

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with Champagne, add lemon or orange twist.

This week’s installment of The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess brought to you by the Small Screen Network brings you the French 75. According to Robert Hess, “The French 75 cocktail has been through a few iterations since its humble beginnings during World War I. Currently, the most popular version of this sparkling cocktail is made with gin. Originally, however, it was most likely made with cognac.”

French 75

• 1 1/2 oz Rémy Martin Cognac
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp. fine sugar

Instructions

• shake cognac, lemon juice and sugar with ice
• strain into a collins glass over ice
• top with sparkling wine or champagne

Some people just know how to party, as seen in this crazy bar tab (reportedly belonging to LeBron James) from Vegas a few weeks ago, but Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban isn’t gonna get showed up by LeBron on the court or at the bar. To celebrate his team winning the NBA Finals, Cuban spent $90,000 on a very large bottle of Ace of Spades Champagne. How big is it? It’s 30 liters big and known as a Melchizedek, which is the equivelent to 40 normal sized bottles of Champagne. On top of the huge price tag, he left a $20,000 tip. No big deal, right? Probably not when you’re ranked 459th on the “World’s Richest People” list, according to Forbes.

How the monster bottle of bubbly was delivered.

Dirk drinking from the massive bottle.

Zane Lamprey on the cover of Mutineer Issue #5

Zane Lamprey, as seen on the cover of Mutineer Magazine Issue #5 and as the host of Mutineer Magazine’s National Launch Party in Hollywood in May 2009, just broke a world record. On February 5th, Zane set a new world record by opening 31 bottles of champagne bottles in less than one minute, smashing the previous record of 27 bottles. The stunt, taped live and in 3D by DIRECTV film crews, took place on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend in Dallas, Texas.

Opening bottles of champagne with a saber, formally known as sabrage, is a technique used for ceremonial purposes and dates back to just after the French revolution when Napoleon’s men would open their bottles of bubbly with their sabers, their weapon of choice. They would do this to celebrate, be awesome, and to impress young, beautiful women.

Conditions have to be just right to correctly saber a bottle of champagne or else you’ll be asking for a mess. The Mutineers know this well after deciding to saber bottles in our hotel room and got slapped with a hefty cleaning fee. On his feat, Zane said “Sabering 31 bottles in a minute, took a lot of practice, and a lot of champagne. Champagne isn’t cheap, especially for 31 bottles…do you think it’s OK if I send Mark Cuban the bill?”

Stay tuned, as Zane attempts to break his current record on his HDnet television show Drinking Made Easy, which airs every Wednesday at 8:30PM E.T.

For the baller in you, this holiday season Moët & Chandon is releasing a limited edition golden jeroboam of their finest champagne. Packing 3 liters of intense bubbly goodness, this jeroboam is dressed entirely in gold leaf by the artisans of Arthus-Bertrand and is a tribute to the year Moët & Chandon was founded. Founded in 1743, only 1,743 bottles of Moët & Chandon Golden Jeroboam will be released and at the cool price of around $1050 each.

On March 8, 1981, Andy Warhol journaled about a group he had discovered called the “2000 Club.” It was described as a company of men who had collected 2000 bottles of Dom Perignon, and were keeping them locked in a vault until New Year’s Eve of the new millennium. The alleged plan was that the corks would be popped when the clock struck midnight. If all hell didn’t break loose, than at least they’d have themselves some damn good bubbly. Continue Reading »

From the people who brought you such memorable Cognacs like Louis XIII, the always impressive Rémy Martin is at it again, this time with the release of Diamant, their new super-premium Cognac. This Fine Champagne Cognac is crafted from some of the most sought after grapes in the Champagne region and uses traditional distillation methods and long maturation in Limousin oak casks. Continue Reading »