Wishing all of you the best wishes for the year that is about to start. We couldn’t be more grateful for your readership and loyalty. Because of you, our readers, we strive to do better every day. How about a little feature on Sabrage to welcome the new year in style. The act of Sabrage refers to the act of opening a bottle of champagne by sliding a saber over its neck. Now, while many believe that the saber slices the neck of the bottle or pushes the cork out, what in reality happens is that the slight impact of the saber on the seam of the bottle creates a chain reaction that makes the bottle release its pressure by breaking its top cork included.

How to Perform the Sabrage?

For a successful ritual, remember that the trick here has nothing to do with force, strength, or speed of motion, it’s all about following the seam with a steady motion of the saber and always making sure you start at least at the bottom third of the bottle as you make your way up to the neck of the bottle.

Before starting, always make sure to remove the foil around the neck so that the saber slides freely and smoothly. Also, make sure that you remove the metal cage surrounding the cork. Before you do the final slide, do a couple of short practice attempts without following the seam all the way to the neck or the cork, that way you’ll get to feel what it’d be like and you’ll set a rhythm going.

Finally, once you feel confident enough to give the bottle its final blow, then it’s time to slide the saber all the way from the bottom of the bottle —always following the seam without stopping at the cork— to the very top without stopping. And always, always follow through, and voila.

Cheers to the #watchlife and to the most special champagne celebration of them all.

Stay thirsty, my friends, and enjoy life to the fullest because you only live once. If you do it right, once is more than enough. Hopefully, the new year will bring lots of health, happiness, and fortune, more importantly, a ton of new watches.

For more info on Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve Champagne click here.