Cocktail Glassware!

There's an art, ritual, and beauty to serving a cocktail in the right glass. The range of styles in impressive, from hand-blown martini glasses to the masculine architecture of a Pilsner glass to the retro cool of an old shot glass. Many glasses are interchangeable, and part of the fun can be serving a drink in something unexpected.

NOTE: Because of the photo limitations enforced on all "Guides and/or Reviews", the most common referenced glassware will NOT be illustrated.

Champagne Flute

6 to 8 ounces
Champagne has long been the symbol of celebration and luxury. The Champagne flute has a lot of work cut out for it when it comes to delivering what’s in the glass. A small surface area on the top preserves the bubbles in a glass of sparkling wine, keeping the “mousse” intact. A tapered, narrow rim sends effervescence and aroma to the nose while controlling the flow over the tongue, keeping a balance between cleansing acidity and savory depth.

 

Chimney

10 to 14 ounces
The chimney, so named for its long and narrow tube-like opening, rests in multiples in a bowl of ice, and the vodka is consumed chilled.

Cocktail / Martini Glass

4 to 6 ounces
Buy some so-called Martini glasses, if your budget allows. There's no substitute for their classic shape (holding the glass by its stem keeps your hot hand away from the chilled alcohol). Officially, bartenders call this a cocktail glass, because it's de rigueur for most jazzy, grown-up drinks — including Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, or Rob Roy. If the recipe reads: "Strain into a cocktail glass," you will be armed.

Collins

10 to 12 ounces
Tumblers with classic smooth lines with a solid base. Perfect for professional bars and home entertaining.

Frappe

8 to 10 ounces
A glass for holding frappes, beverages of spirits (generally liqueurs) and crushed ice. Similar to a parfait glass but slightly larger and usually of thinner glass.

Highball

8 to 10 ounces
A tall glass suited to simple beverages (highballs) which contain a spirit and sparkling water.

Hurricane

24 to 26 ounces
A large glass designed and badged to contain the proprietary mixture (and its imitators) known as the Hurricane - a passion fruit and rum drink invented and still served at a New Orleans venue named Pat O'Brien's. Its design mimics that of a hurricane lamp.

Irish Coffee

8 to 10 ounces
A handled, footed mug-style glass meant to hold heated mixed drinks - often Irish Coffee and its variants.

Julep

8 to 10 ounces
A cup of great tradition and old fashioned styling meant to hold spirits, water, liqueurs, ice, and garnishes - including, but not limited to, the Mint Julep.

Large Wine Goblet

10 to 14 ounces
A large style of wine glass, used for red and white (though mainly red) wines, popular from the 1960s on. Besides being designed to hold a relatively large volume of wine compared to its progenitors, it was made to expose a lot of wine surface area, presumably to speed up the "breathing" of the wine while cupping the aroma (or bouquet). It is a glass well suited to sangria and other wine-based mixed drinks.

*** For guidance on glasses suited to particular wines, consult my guide to wine stemware.

Margarita Glass

12 to 14 ounces
A glass, ubiquitous today, meant to hold the various flavors of frozen Margaritas. Margaritas on the rocks are also served in this glass, but not as good an effect.

Old-Fashioned

8 to 10 ounces
A small squat thick-based glass meant to hold ice and spirits or the occasional mixed drink of the Old Fashioned or Sazerac style.

 

Double Old-Fashioned

14 to 16 ounces
A glass type, also known as a bucket for its large size, meant to contain large quantities of mainly tropical punch-style drinks. The form factor is the same as a standard Old-Fashioned glass, only larger.

Parfait

4 to 6 ounces
A glass meant for holding parfaits, in the alcoholic sense, beverages of spirits (generally liqueurs, but often in concert with a straight spirit, perhaps brandy or rum) and ice cream. Similar to a frappe glass but slightly smaller and usually of thicker glass.

Pilsner

12 to 14 ounces
The classic non-mug style of beer glass, named for the pilsner brew but generally used for any non-dark beer.

Pousse-Cafe

1-1/2 ounces
Traditionally a sort of narrow, tall cordial glass often to contain a slightly greater volume of liquid than a standard 1 ounce cordial. The Pousse Café and its variations were liqueur drinks poured in layers so the heaviest liqueur or syrup would settle in the bottom and progressively lighter (lower specific gravity) liqueurs or spirits of differing colors would float atop one another creating a layered rainbow effect. Pousse Cafes are meant to be sipped one layer at a time, like a chocolate sampler.

Shot Glass

1-1/2 to 2 ounces
A small and compact glass meant simply to contain spirit and nothing more. The shooter fad, however, has reinvigorated the shot glass business.

Sour

6 ounces
A small stemmed glass, narrow at the stem and tapering out to a wider lip. Specified to contain citrus, sugar, and spirit drinks such as the Whiskey Sour.

Zombie

12 to 14 ounces
A tall, chimney-like glass named for the drink, the Zombie - a powerful tiki rum concoction. It is suited for many such drinks, its narrow tallness adding an air of sleekness to a many libations. Produced in both clear and frosted versions.

 

***Coming Soon***

Bar-Talk: Gadgets and Gizmos
Bar-Talk: Basic Training - Essentials of Preparation
Bar-Talk: Mixer's Measurements - Weights and Measurements
Bar-Talk: Liqueurs, Liquors, and Bitters - Shopper's Guide