Should my dinner call for a theatrical nightcap, I’ll reach for a Blue Blazer cocktail and explain to the audience that there’s two reasons they may not have heard of this cocktail that is 170+ years old:

1. Most bartenders don’t know how —or don’t want— to make one because it’s dangerous.

2. It’s not that tasty.

Not all spirits have special rituals or eccentric tools for heightening their enjoyment, but whiskey has a handful of ways. Some easy, some expensive, and some that just take advanced preparation. This post will take you through several different ways of making your whiskey-drinking prospect’s night a memorable one.

You might think I like starting my dinners because it lets me show off Champagne sabering. The only problem with that argument is that I don’t saber Champagne; I teach guests how to do it and a couple of them do it live at the dinner. But that is just one reason, and not even the main reason. Here is why I like kicking off my dinners with Champagne sabrage:

It’s close to sunset on the evening of December 13, 2006. I’m in a dimly lit parking garage across the street from the Sideways Supper Club. I’ve just bought 6 bottles of cheap, room temperature Champagne from a nearby liquor store. Despite having sold a couple dozen Champagne sabers on my eCommerce site, I have never actually done it myself…