Ninth Course. With this course champagne is the favorite beverage in every country. After the dessert plates, forks and spoons are removed, a finger-bowl partly filled with water is placed before each guest, on plate having upon it a doily, a fruit knife and a nut pick (if fruits and nuts are to be served). After the fruits, cognac and liqueurs, such as annisette, benedictine, chartreuse or kummel, are served in miniature decanters, without handles, and poured into tiny thimble-shaped glasses, which should match the decanters, either plain or colored, cut or in striking gold effects. Creme de menthe is served on shaved ice in a special bowl-shaped glass, from a highly decorated small decanter either of white or colored glass without a handle.
Sherry, port and madeira are improved by being decantered several hours before using. In winter, the decanters should be dipped in warm water or otherwise warmed.
All possible care should be taken in handling and decanting wines in order not to disturb the deposit which may exist in the bottle. Nearly all wines precipitate a sediment which sometimes resembles sand or white crystals. Its presence is rather a mark of superiority than inferiority in the quality of the wine. This deposit, however, if shaken, destroys the brilliancy of the wine, and impairs its flavor and bouquet.
Lighter wines, such as bordeaux and most Italian wines, should be decanted only an hour before dinner, and brought into the dining room as late as possible before using. Sauterne, rhine wine, burgundy and champagne should be served from the original bottles, which should be stood up on end at least twenty-four hours before serving, to give the sediment time to settle at the bottom. The cork should be very carefully drawn without shaking the bottle, the bottle slowly tilted, and the clear wine gently poured out. A small quantity of wine containing the sediment should be left in the bottle. Putting ice in the wine glass will spoil the flavor of any fine wine.
A few drops of wine should first be poured into the host's glass, before serving the guests. If a toast to the health of any one present be proposed, the guest in whose honor the toast is given, must not drink, but should acknowledge the compliment with a smile and bow of thanks. The etiquette in regard to the German custom of clinking glasses is very well defined. One must hold the wine glass by the stem, being careful not to touch the bowl with the fingers. Convention also requires that one must look the person with whom one clinks glasses in the eye, and not at the wine, as one unfamiliar with this custom is very apt to do.
CHAPTER II.
HOW TO SEND THE INVITATION—HOW TO SERVE IN PROPER FORM DINNERS AND LUNCHEONS WITH MENUS AND RECIPES.
The Invitation.
| Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Brown |
| request the pleasure of |
| Mr and Mrs. Jones' company |
| at Dinner, |
| on Wednesday, January 17, |
| at seven o'clock. |