TOASTING TIPS

TIPS ON HOW TO

MAKE THE MOST

OF EVERY TOAST

Toasting and drinking go together like steak and potatoes; it’s hard to imagine one without the other. We toast for all sorts of reasons—to celebrate a special moment, to honor someone, to enliven a party, to elicit a laugh or a tear—but whatever the occasion, a well-made toast always makes it more festive.

Toasting has been around for more than two millennia. The Greeks were toasting each other as early as the 6th Century B.C., and for a very practical reason: to prove the wine wasn’t poisoned! Poisoning was such a

Today, toasting is common in many cultures, and depending on where you are, not toasting before you drink may be considered downright rude. There are few hard-and-fast rules with respect to toasting, but it is generally agreed that:

One should always stand when making a toast, unless it’s a small, informal gathering.

The toastee never stands during the toast or drinks to himself. He simply responds with a thank you.

“May all your joys be

pure joys, and all your

pain Champagne.”

Clinking glasses is optional; raising one’s glass is not. It’s bad manners not to participate in a toast. Better to raise a glass of water (unless you’re in the Navy, in which case it’s bad luck) or an empty glass than to sit there and do nothing.

popular means of getting rid of rivals or creating a shortcut to divorce that it became customary for the host to pour from a common pitcher and take the first drink, then raise his glass to his friends and invite them to drink in good health. And the word “toast” comes from the ancient Roman practice of dropping a piece of burnt bread into the wine to disguise the taste of bad vintages.

One should never toast the guest of honor before the host has had the opportunity to do so.

It’s considered polite to make eye contact when toasting. In some cultures, not doing so is thought to invite bad luck.

No hitting the fork against the glass to get everyone’s attention. It’s déclassé.

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