sugar rim , where the outside of the rim of a glass in which a cocktail or other mixed drink will be served has been moistened and rolled in sugar to create a frosted effect, has been a part of “fancy” mixology at least since the 1850s. That’s when Joseph Santini (1817–1874) of New Orleans applied it to his version of the Cock-Tail, which he christened the Crusta, after the crust that the sugar formed when it was left to set. See Crusta. After that, it joined the bartender’s repertoire, to be deployed when a drink needed a fancy touch. With the trend toward drier drinks that came at the turn of the twentieth century, however, it began to seem outdated: as one New York newspaperman snarked in 1908, “In Gananoque [a small town in Ontario, Canada] and other commercial centers they still put sugar around the rim of the glass.”
The sugar rim returned to vogue in the 1930s, when American bartenders began applying it to the Sidecar, which did not originally have it (this no doubt influenced the salt rim on the Margarita, which can be viewed as a tequila Sidecar). See Margarita and Sidecar. It is still the default presentation for the Sidecar, but is used infrequently otherwise.
To rim a glass properly with sugar, rub a piece of lemon around the outside rim of the glass, ensuring that a band a centimeter (roughly half an inch) wide is well and consistently moistened. Then roll the glass in sugar, making sure to get a consistent coating. (Although superfine or caster sugar is traditional, different types or even colors of sugar can be used, depending on the effect desired.) It is best to perform this operation well in advance, letting the glass sit at room temperature for an hour so that the sugar will set. Otherwise, condensation from the cold drink will cause the sugar to run down the glass, creating a sticky mess.
Chapin & Gore. Manual: What to Use, How to Mix, How to Serve. Chicago: Chapin & Gore, 1935.
“The Onlooker.” New York Evening Telegram, April 21, 1908, 8.
By: David Wondrich
A sugar rim on an East India Cocktail.
Wondrich Collection.
A sugar rim on an East India Cocktail. Source: Wondrich Collection.