Sabring is an ancient, noble way of opening a bottle of champagne, according to some. Others consider it a carnival attraction and degradation to the noble drink. ‘However you sit in it, everyone who stylishly sabres the cork from the bottle experiences a moment of happiness,’ says Commandeur-Sabreur Esther van Staalduinen.
Text: Magda van der Rijst | Image: Pexels
‘Opening a bottle of champagne by knocking the cork out with a sabre is always spectacular. For the person doing it and for the viewer. Even as an experienced sabre player, you feel that tension. The cork shooting out by your stroke, that gives such a kick.’ Speaking is Esther van Staalduinen, Benelux and Aruba ambassador of the Confrérie du Sabre d'Or. This ‘Brotherhood of the Golden Sabre’ does everything in its power to keep sabring as a ritual alive. The brotherhood operates in twenty-four countries; its headquarters are in France. Logical, you might think, after all, that's where champagne comes from, so the French must have invented sabring. Opinions on that are divided.
Napoleon
Sabreurs sabre with a Solingen Chevalier Sable, a replica of an officer's sabre from the time of Napoleon. According to the French, during the battle of Smolensk in 1812, they celebrated victory over the Russians by opening champagne bottles with their sabre. The Cossacks, employed by the Russian army, claim they started it. Anyway, since the early 19th century, this tradition has existed and, according to Esther van Staalduinen, interest is only increasing.
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