How To Rim A Glass The Easy Way—with Salt, Sugar Or Anything Else

What do a margarita, lemon drop martini, and sidecar all have in common? All of those delicious cocktails are traditionally served in a rimmed glass.

Hundreds of cocktails ranging from traditional classics to unique bar specialties are served with things like salt, sugar, or even graham crackers on the rim. For each of those cocktails, the bartender is faced with the challenge of how they'll get that tasty garnish to stick to the glass without turning your classy drink into a messy potential wardrobe disaster.

Traditionally whatever your glass is rimmed with — be it salt, sugar, or something else — is attached to the glass with a liquid. Citrus juices such as lime and lemon juice are common rim moisteners, but sweeter options such as simple syrup, agave, or even chocolate sauce will also get the job done.

If you want to go with the absolute easiest option then you can also just use water. Should you choose that route, however, you'll want to bust out the paper towels.

When it comes to how you can rim your cocktail glass there are quite a few methods, but all of them start with spreading out the dry ingredient such as salt on a plate where it will be easily accessible to dip into after adding your preferred liquid to the glass edge.

If you're going with something like citrus juice as your liquid you could take a freshly cut lime or lemon slice and wipe it around the top of the glass to moisten it. If you're using water; however, it can be a bit more difficult.

Historically the secondary liquid, be it water or something else, is put on a second plate. To rim your glass you would first dip it in your liquid, and then again in your plate of salt or sugar.

On YouTube, Alton Brown has suggested another way that might make rimming that glass a lot easier provided you're using water: He uses a paper towel.

While the hack might not work for heavier rims like shredded coconut or graham cracker crumbles, Alton Brown's paper towel trick is perfect for lighter rims like salt or sugar. He suggests putting a wet paper towel on a second plate rather than putting the liquid directly on the plate and then pressing your glass down on the paper towel to moisten it before dipping it in your rim ingredients. Advanced home bartenders might even be able to get by without using the second plate for their wet paper towel, cutting down on dishes.

It's a small variation of the traditional method, but one that could potentially be game-changing. Dunking a glass directly in liquid works, but you also run the risk of having that liquid run down your glass once you turn it right side up. The paper towel controls the amount of liquid you're adding to the top of your glass, ultimately leaving you with a cleaner glass and an easy, even application of your garnish of choice. It also leaves you with something even more important: a glass ready to be filled with your favorite cocktail to enjoy.