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WITTY, WISE .A.ND OTHERWISE.
137
Affer ser ving rock and rye, a cordial or any drink containing sugar or
syrup, great care should be exercised by the presiding mixologist to carefully
clean any sticky substance out of the bottom of the glass with the fingers or
with a very strong pressure of water from a faucet, because
if
any such
substance remains in the bottom of the glass when it is being wiped, the glass
·can never be polished, the bar towels
will
become sticky and gummed up, and
in consequence every glass that is wiped with that towel afterwards
will
have
a dirty, streaky look.
It
is positively impossible to keep things polished behind a bar if this rule
is not adhered to, and many bartenders have lost their positions in consequence
of being careless or ignorant of this very important rule.
Always use thin glassware
if
you wish to have your drinks appreciated;
for there is an old adage known to all connoisseurs and lovers of the good
things of life that, "A drink of beer tastes as good out of a thin glass as
champagne does out of a cup."
The iceing of wines
is of great importance ; but how few bartenders pay
attention to this
subject~
Clarets and Burgundies should never be cooled in
any manner, but should be kept and drank at a temperature of about seventy
degrees Fahrenheit. Hocks, Reislings and Sauternes can be kept at any
temperature without injury, but it is advisable to keep them cool. Ice may be
served in the glass with these wines, and the flavor will not be much impaired
thereby; but the flavor of champagne is always injured by serving in this
manner. The proper way
to
treat effervescent wines is to ice the bottle well
before uncorking. Cognacs should always be kept at an even temperature, as
extreme heat or cold is very injurious to them; b.ut whiskies
of
all kinds are
much more palatable when iced, and the liquor is not impaired thereby. Malt
liquors of all kinds should be served at a temperature somewhat colder than the
surrounding atmosphere.
·
I n drawing a cork from a bottle of any effervesce1_it liquid,
always hold the
bottle in an oblique position, as near horizontal as possible, without getting the
mouth of the bottle below the surface line of the contents. Hold the bottle
in
this position for a few moments before stan<ling it up, and no waste can pos,
sibly occur. The principle of this little trick is that the bubbles formed by
the sudden contact of the heavy o::-.)'gen with the lighter gas contained in the
bottle rise perpendicularly ; therefore, when the bottle is held in a vertical
position, the first-formed globules of air containing quantities of the valuable
liquid are forced through the neck of the bottle by the successive formation of
others, causing loss, damage and inconvenience; but, when the bottle is held
obliquely, the bubbles, still true to the same law of nature, continue the same
upwa rd course; but, instead of escaping through the opening, tl::ey are arrested
by the slope of the bottle, and the gas which must necessarily escape through
the only vent to relieve this pressure is not in the form of bubbles; therefore
the desideratum is acquired.