Then you must handle the ingredients with the utmost care. Pour just a splash of vermouth in the frosted glass and swish it about so it touchs all of the inside. Then pour it out. This requires the utmost delicacy. Now add the Gin and just one olive.

Cherry demands the same careful treatment. The initial coat of varnish/oil, in this case, Watco Natural, needs to be applied with the thinnest coat you can manage. The slightest hint of a puddle will cause blotching. I dipped the lint-free towel in the oil then folded it back on itself so that the part that was dipped never touchs the wood. Only what bleeds through a dry layer goes on. No blotches.

Once the oil is thoroughly dry the shellac is applied with a pad made by placing a ball of of an old cotton sock inside a squre of cheesecloth. Dip the pad in the shellac and don't just let the excess drip off. Squeeze the pad dry, Then pad on the shellac until the pad begins to drag on the wood. Only then go back and re-wet it.
And use nothing more than a 1 pound cut.

It'll take many coats, each rubbed out with 4-0 steel wool, but now I know I'm on the way to a beautiful finish.

Pass the Gin.