In the same way that the pourers you choose for your bar can say a lot about your bar, the atmosphere, and its style – which we covered last week – so can the choice of bottle opener. From the more traditional twin lever corkscrew (often seen in wine bars) to the classic Waiter’s Friend, the under counter catcher, and the Beaumont bar blade, there are many different ways to go about the same job.
Each different option fits a different style and a different need – those bars that expect to deal with a very high turnover of customers ordering bottled beers and ciders, for example, may opt for bar blades or the under counter catcher – rather than the Waiter’s Friend. After all every second counts on a busy night to ensure all customers are served in a timely manner.
Although there are various options for opening bottles, in this week’s blog we are going to focus on the bar blade. Available from Beaumont in a 7 inch all stainless steel form as well as a 7 inch part black vinyl coated form, these bar blades are the best in the business when it comes to doing the job and going the distance. Their stainless steel make up ensures that they will not rust from the many liquids they are bound to come into contact with and stay strong during testing tasks.
As we have already touched on, all the openers have their own best practices, however it really comes down to your style – whether you like to woo your customers with spectacular tricks, or with the highest levels of silver service. The bar blade, of course, is far more suited to the former rather than the latter. Half the fun of using a bar blade is performing some of the unique bottle opening tricks, which you can see below:
Bar Blades have been around for many years now, having been used mainly in flair competitions. Bar Blading is a small part of a flair bartender’s routine they use it to do a number of things that impresses the crowd. However, the reason many bartenders opt to use a bar blade behind the bar is the speed at which it can be used, and its ability to impresses the customer – so long as you pull off your cool trick! Take a look at this video below and see if it doesn’t look cooler than using a Waiter’s Friend:
