Your Complete Guide to Cocktail Glasses

Your guide to cocktail glasses is here! Everything you would need to know how to mix drool worthy cocktails that look sinfully alluring! We all know that a cocktail is not just about shaking, stirring, and adding stuff that you like to drink; it’s more than what meets the eye. It involves creativity, chemistry, and most important of all - drinkware.

Before getting into making cocktails at your home bar, knowing your cocktail glasses is paramount. Knowing and picking the right cocktail glasses is crucial as they are designed keeping in mind the psychological and scientifically proven emotional effects on the person drinking.

We all, at some stage, have goofed up by mixing up the right drink but serving it in the wrong glass. Really, with the huge variety to choose from, it does get confusing for anyone to just look at all the different types of cocktail glasses while stocking up the home bar.

Therefore, Bar-enthusiast.com brings you this guide to narrow down the cocktail glasses that your home bar actually needs.

You can also check out: 10 essentials you home bar might be missing and bring the class, elegance, and style at your hip home bar with a personal touch!

Why do you need different types of cocktail glasses?

Before we filter out the types of glassware, we need to understand why the variety is needed. The answer is - to enhance the drinking experience. Presentation matters when it comes to drinking. Drinking glasses are designed in such a way that they bring out intricacy in the form of aroma, color, temperature, and taste. Moreover, preparation and the way the drink is dished out & served makes a huge difference.

In short, the effect of a good drink tends to get lost when served in the wrong type of glass.

1. Martini Glass

The most common glass used by most people for cocktails and mocktails. It is used for drinks between 3 and 6 ounces that are served without ice which includes a variety of cocktails such as variations of Martini, Cosmopolitan, Gimlet, and many other classic cocktails. They are a very good alternative to margarita glasses.

They come in a variety of sizes from 3 to 10 ounces. Large glasses (>6 ounces) eat up a lot of shelf space and small glasses (<6 ounces) are too small a room for cocktails. Hence, stick to 6-ounce glasses to get yourself extra room for accidental splashes while carrying them. 

Also, make sure the stem is thin and long. It serves a purpose. It does not just allow the drinker to hold the drink but also keep these non-iced drinks colder for a longer period.

Get the premium cocktail glass with a salsa stem - Martini glass here.

2. Margarita Glass

The only use of Margarita glass is to serve Margaritas which can be served in Martini glasses too. We have included this in the list as these look cool, are easy on your pocket and occupy less shelf space. Margarita glasses come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

The size varies from 6 to 20 ounces. The three shapes are widely used to serve: The large bowl glass is used for big frozen drinks or with those with a lot of ice, the medium double bowl glasses are good for frozen drinks and the smaller ones with wide rim are basically used to serve a little amount of alcohol with a salt or sugar rim.

The ones with 60 ounces are good on a table full of friends with individual straws and can be avoided if you have a small group of friends.

3.Highball and Collins Glasses

The highball glass is a tall and narrow glass that holds about 8 to 12 ounces and is meant to be filled with ice. It is used to serve cocktails on the rocks and the glass shape is best to keep the iced-drink cold and to preserve carbonation. They are compatible with all kinds of cocktails, namely Sex on the beach, Screwdriver, Dark & Stormy, etc.

The Collins glass is actually taller, narrower, and has a slightly larger capacity at 10 to 14 ounces than the Highball glass. This also keeps your cocktail chilled and is best used for drinks that require a lot of ice and contain more than one mixer. They are used for Mojito, Paloma, Tom Collins, etc.

Style your drink with this copper bar spoon for mixing your cocktail.

4. Rocks Glasses

These are short & broad tumblers, with a thick bottom. They are also called “lowball” or “rocks” glasses. Oftentimes, the drinks are made directly in the glass to layer the liquor easily over the ice. These old fashioned glasses are common for cocktails such as White Russian, Rusty nail, Bloodsucker, etc.

Rocks glasses come in two sizes: single (6-8 oz.) and double (10-14 oz.).

Get these rocks glass molded in a diamond pattern that offers a timeless & sophisticated look.

5. Copper Mug

Copper Mugs are known for the ability to insulate the drink and maintain the chillness. Drinking from copper mugs is good for health and copper being metal triggers an oxidation process that enhances the aroma and taste of the drink. Moreover, these mugs are stylish and look gorgeous.

They are associated with Moscow Mule for a longer period of time. Other cocktails served in copper mugs are Ginger Mule, Greyhound, Gin and Tonic, Parker punch, etc.

Check out these hammered copper plated mugs for your enhanced drinking experience.

Now that you know the type of cocktail glasses your home bar needs, it’s time to indulge in some retail therapy with what else, but your favorite cocktail for company! Shop Online with barenthusiast.com.

Already have a collection? Show us how your glassware set looks like - and we will feature your pride! Tag us using #barenthusiast on Instagram and Facebook.