The technique of adding salt to the rim of a glass is well known in part thanks to the popularity of Margaritas. Other cocktails use a sugar rim.

This not only provides a nice finish to the cocktail’s appearance; it can also add to the taste experience for the drinker and form an essential part of the recipe.

Although many recipes rely on using salt, in fact there are many other ingredients that can be used to decorate the rim, such as sugar, chocolate, dried coconut or even broken pepper. It is best to use ingredients that are in dry, powdered or finely chopped form, to ensure they can cling properly to the glass.

In all cases, the quality of the ingredient used is just as important as the ingredients used in the cocktail itself. For example, it is usually best to use sea salt rather than iodised salt, the flavour of which is too strong.

How to add a salt or sugar rim to a glass:

1Moisten the outside of the glass rim. This should depend on the ingredient you want to add to the rim of the glass. When adding salt, the most common method is to use a wedge of lemon or lime. When adding a sweet ingredient (such as sugar, or coconut), any sweet fruit (such as an orange) can be used. Alternatively, moistening a towel or sponge with an appropriate liqueur can also do the trick.

2Never moisten the inside of the glass, to avoid contaminating the drink. Just like any garnish, a salt (or sugar) rim should not over-power a cocktail. The choice to consume the drink together with the salt rim should be left to the drinker. Before serving the cocktail, check to ensure there is no garnish inside the glass. Use fresh fruit, a clean towel or sponge to wipe the inside of the glass if necessary.

3To give the drinker the choice to consume the cocktail together with the garnish or not, it is recommended to salt or sugar only half or 2/3 of the rim of the glass. Otherwise, as some drinkers want to avoid the garnish altogether, they may ask for a new cocktail if they are not given the choice.

4If you know in advance you will be making cocktails requiring a salt or sugar rim, you can prepare the glasses in advance. This will give time to the garnish to dry. Prepare enough glasses in advance and place them in a refrigerator to chill until you are ready to use them.

Despite its odd name, a cocktail 'rimmer' is designed to make this process easier. This equipment is composed of three sections: one carries a sponge (loaded with water or lemon/lime juice), the second contains salt and the third sugar (or another sweet ingredient). One should use this equipment with caution to avoid touching the inside of the glass with the sponge.