1908 The World's Drinks and How to Miw Them by Hon Wm Boothby (1st edition)

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.