There are a lot of components that can take a cocktail from good to great. Investing in good quality ingredients, using the right technique, and topping with a nice garnish are all small steps that can make a big difference. But one element that transforms any homemade drink into a bar-quality beverage is often overlooked: the glass.
Sure, anything’s better than a red Solo cup, but each cocktail deserves a dedicated glass that maximizes the drinking experience. It’s easy when the vessels are named after drinks themselves, like a martini or a margarita. But deciding how to serve anything else can often come down to your best guess (or whatever’s clean in your kitchen).
That being said, you don't need to fill your home bar with every glass under the sun. There are three overall categories that capture almost every cocktail that you can make. We're breaking each of them down, along with tips on the best ones to buy. Once you stock up on these essentials, your cocktail options are endless.
Stemmed Glasses
You want to reach for a stemmed glass when making a spirit-forward drink served chilled and without ice (also known as “up”). This applies to drinks like martinis, cosmos, and Manhattans. Since there’s no ice to keep the temperatures down, the ultimate goal is keeping your drink cold—and the body heat from your fingers is the enemy. That’s where the stem comes in. By holding your glass by the stem instead of the bowl, you can direct the warmth to the part that doesn’t touch your drink and keep your cocktail colder for longer.
There are several types of stemmed cocktail glasses, and in most cases, you can use them interchangeably. Some of the most popular varieties include the martini glass, the Nick & Nora, and the coupe. If you’re looking to minimize spills and maximize versatility, we’d suggest the coupe. The wide bowl and rounded rim make it far less prone to sloshing your drink around than a martini glass. Not only does it work great for any drink served up, but it can also be used to serve sparkling wine.
Tall Stemless Glasses
If you’re serving a mixed drink or cocktail with ice, you should opt for a tall, stemless glass. The height makes it perfect for larger-volume drinks. And because there’s ice in the glass, you don’t need to worry as much about warming the drink up with your fingers. You can typically find two different types behind a bar: a highball and a Collins. Despite looking so similar, they are technically meant to serve two different practical purposes.
A highball glass is named for, you guessed it, highball cocktails. This category refers to any drink made with a spirit and a mixer (usually one that’s carbonated). It encompasses all of the basic mixed drinks, like a Jack and Coke, a vodka tonic, and a whiskey ginger. Your average highball has a volume between 8 and 12 ounces. They also tend to lean taller and narrower because they’re designed to keep your mixer carbonated.
Collins glasses, on the other hand, skew wider and larger; they can hold anywhere between 10 and 14 ounces. The added volume is meant to accommodate more mixers like juices, liqueurs, and syrups. They’re ideal for drinks like a Tom Collins (naturally) as well as a mojito, a Bloody Mary, and a Long Island iced tea.
But, truthfully? They’re so similar that you don’t need to buy both for your home bar (and many professional bars don’t). To get the best of both worlds, choose one that can fit between 10 and 12 ounces.
Short Stemless Glasses
If stemmed glasses are for spirit-forward drinks served up, short stemless glasses are best for spirit-forward drinks served neat or on the rocks. Neither require special handling—since they either keep themselves cold or are meant to be enjoyed at room temperature. This category covers anything from a Negroni to an old fashioned or just a spirit on its own.
There are two main cocktail glasses in this category: a rocks and a double rocks (the rocks in question are ice cubes). The difference between the two is the capacity. A single rocks typically holds between 6 and 8 ounces of liquid while a double can hold between 10 and 12.
Similar to tall stemless glasses, you don’t need to invest in both. The safest bet is to buy double rocks glasses because they can fit spirits served straight up as well as larger cocktails.
