The Right Glass For The Right Drink
Most alcoholic beverage recipes recommend a glassware type that goes well with that particular drink. Thus, knowing an old-fashioned from a highball glass is very important. The importance of using the right kind of glass can break or make the entire look of your wonderful cocktail. Also, remember that making a “double” or “triple” Martini in a highball glass may be fun for the moment but you are likely to have a very different attitude toward by the morning time. The deciding factor when selecting an appropriate cocktail glass should be ensuring that the volume of liquid in the drink is compatible with the glass size – its that simple.
Within this growing glassware tour, I have designed some of the glasses as “Must Haves” for home bars. This feature helps you select the essential glassware to acquire for your new bar. When going glass shopping, do not be afraid to step “outside the box.” Get creative and add flair to your drinks by selecting unique glass designs such as the following.
– Cocktail glass
The familiar conical cocktail glass shape induces thoughts of Martinis in most of us. This is just as it should be. Martinis as well as other neat drinks and other classic cocktails between three and six ounces are most often seen inside a cocktail glass (or Martini Glass).
Ideal for:
- Frappes
- Chilled neat drinks
- All “up” cocktails
- Martinis
Tip – Plunge the bowl part of an empty glass into ice for a few minutes prior to preparing the cocktail in order to get a chilled glass quickly.
- – Highball Glass
Highball glasses are over sized tumblers that accommodate eight to twelve ounces of liquid and may easily replace the Collins glass. Highball glasses are typically used for mixed drinks with a high proportion of mixer to liquor. Bourbon and water and scotch and soda are major examples.
Ideal for:
- Bloody Marys
- Highballs
- Other taller drinks
- Soda
- Beer
Old-Fashioned Glass
Also known as a “rocks” glass or “lowball” glass, the Old-Fashioned Glass is a squat-style tumbler that can hold five to ten ounces of fluid. It is typically used for shorter mixed drinks and any mixed drink that is served “on the rocks.”
Ideal for:
- Black-and-White Russians
- Old-Fashioneds
- Mai Tais
- “On the Rocks” drinks
– Champagne Flute
Champagne Flutes are very tall, thin, tapered glasses capable of containing between seven and eleven fluid ounces. It is, of course, ideal for Champagne-based cocktails. The reason for the flute design is to retain bubbles in the flute for longer periods of time; when less surface area of the drink is exposed to outside air, the bubbles cannot escape as quickly.
Ideal for:
- Champagne
- Champagne cocktails
– Collins Glass
The Collins Glass is option for home bars because may be interchanged with a Highball Glass. It is used mainly for all Collins drinks and is a narrow tumbler that contains eight to twelve ounces of liquid.
Ideal for:
- Zombies
- Tom Collins
- Long Island Iced Tea
– Irish Coffee Glass
Irish Coffee Glasses replace the ordinary mug for making attractive hot cocktails. It is a footed mug that holds from eight to twelve fluid ounces and is constructed of heat-resistant glass.
Ideal for:
- Hot Toddy
- Hot Buttered Rum
– Hurricane Glass
Hurricane Glasses are primarily used with blended and frozen cocktails. Its distinctive pear-shaped curve reminds one of vintage hurricane lamps. A Hurricane Glass holds between ten and twelve ounces of liquid.
Ideal for:
- Coco Coladas
- Frozen Pina Coladas
- Other Frozen Cocktails
- Blended cocktails
- All hot cocktails
– Margarita Glass
This is the best and truest way to serve a Margarita. The Margarita Glass’ wide bowl is generally about five inches wide and designed for easy salt rimming. Normal-sized Margarita Glasses can hold from twelve to twenty ounces of fluid; the Super Margarita Glass, however, can accommodate up to sixty ounces of fluid for those wanting to host the ultimate Margarita party.
Ideal for:
- Margaritas
– Shot glass
The shot glass is among the better-known glasses in all bars. Shot Glasses are available in a huge variety of sizes. The average shot of liquor is 1 1/2 ounces, however. A “pony shot” or “short shot” is another common shot glass size that contains only one ounce of liquid. A shot glass is typically constructed of very thick glass, particularly at its base. Absorbing the shock of being slammed on a bar or table is the intended purpose of the thick glass. This often occurs after a drinker has been consuming the potent contents of the glass.
Ideal for:
- Playing the “Quarters” drinking game
- Shooters