ASK AGATE: Help for a Bachelor
Dear Agate,
I’m a 28-year-old bachelor planning a party at my apartment; guests include some ladies I’d like to impress. I’ll be serving champagne, any suggestions on how to do it well?
From,
Single-and-Trying
Dear Single-and-Trying,
Champagne? Prompt, cold and running like water. As soon as a guest arrives—especially one of those ladies—offer to take his or her coat and place a glass of chilled champagne in hand. Serve respectable: Brut Réserve Pol Roger is always a safe choice, the British royal family’s preferred libation for receptions. Flûtes are probably the best way to go for a party; I suggest you do your homework here
Buy Magnums, fill your bathtub with 2/3 ice and 1/3 water, and chill them there. Very festive. Refill glasses with your dominant hand stabilizing the neck, your other hand’s thumb on the indent at the bottom of the bottle, and a little towel suspended somewhere—don’t, please don’t, hold the bottle by the neck only, like a brute. You could also hire someone just for drinks service, shouldn’t cost a fortune. And remember, keep it flowing like the Jordan River, and give the girls space to dance.
Larry Salk, “Summer Cocktail Party with English Butler,” 1961. Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.