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Mixed Drink-Ware

Sorry if this has been covered before.

I have plenty of bar glass-ware from rocks glasses to champagne flutes to triangular-type (relatively large) martini/cocktail glasses and wine glasses in various varieties.

I am feeling dissatisfied with the triangular martini glasses for "up" cocktails. They seem a little out of style and never seemed that practical to begin with. Kind of large, never designed to be practical, etc. "Progressive" cocktail bars seem to now be using coupe glasses, or even more "trendy" Nick and Nora glasses--the latter seeming to come in various styles and sizes, but generally smaller capacity than what I have.

Anyone have any thoughts or experiences to share? I probably do not actually need any additional glass ware, but it seems like it would be fun to have some. I can see disadvantages to the coupe format. The Nick and Nora format often seems like just a small wine glass, so one could say, "why bother?" I also think there is an argument for serving up most "up" cocktails in a smaller rocks glass. Maybe not a martini, a Manhattan, or an Aviation, I suppose. But cocktails are expensive and "fun," so why scrimp on having good glasses, at least as to format. I am not looking to invest in expensive glass.

Thanks!
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I've not cared much for the enormous, harshly triangular stemmed glasses, either. A time ago, such glasses were not so strikingly sharp, and they certainly weren't bigger than your head. They also weren't filled to the rim in such a way that you couldn't so much as look at it cross-eyed without sloshing a half-ounce or more of your cocktail all over the place (or sip very awkwardly for a while).

Rather, the lines were a bit softer, and the glasses were smaller, and some even had a bit of a rim or lip so that one did't sling one's cocktail all around the party and the other guests. We are fortunate enough to have glasses like that:

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I don't know how difficult it is to find such glasses. Mrs. TL's great-aunt gave these to us.
 
I like those and from all I read that was really the classic cocktail glass, or at least the classic size. The shape seems to have evolved over time. Do you know how many ounces yours hold?

I looked around and found some in the back of one of our cabinets that look just like the ones in this link and hold exactly four ounces. 4 Nick & Nora Cocktail Glasses So being old and forgetful and a hoarder worked out for once.

We probably used these for white wine four decades ago, but they seem perfect for my current purposes. Most Nick and Nora glasses available these days seem to be at least six ounces. Seem too big to be truly traditional, and thus not as interesting.
 
I was just thinking about the impracticality of martini glasses, the other day. I was in the mood for a martini for the first time in a couple of years, and when I went to make one, it occurred to me that I had lost my martini glasses in my last move. I wound up using a lowball glass, and thinking that I was not going to bother buying new martini glasses. I liked them for the sake of tradition, but they are never easy to balance, and if you aren't careful, you end up spilling your drink.
 
My go to is bourbon on the rocks... Usually i like heavy glass but then i saw these lalique highball glasses and fell in love. My daughter bought me a pair last year and they sure are pretty. Granted a bit over the top but fun to have.

Tumblers 100 POINTS
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
Do you know how many ounces yours hold?

Six ounces on the dot, and that seems about right. I make about a 3 ounce martini/Manhattan/etc., so there's a nice amount of room left at the top after plunking a big ol' olive or cherry in the glass. I have an easily managed drink that also looks good and it quite tasty.

Searching around the intertubes revealed a handful of 6 ounce options for stemmed cocktail glasses. However, I also came across a whole bunch of 8, 10, and even 12 ounce options. My goodness. That 12-ouncer (actually 11.6 ounces) would need something like an 8 or 9 ounce Martini. There's nothing good about that.

I was just thinking about the impracticality of martini glasses, the other day.

They shouldn't be impractical, but modern designs and practices have made them so. Something that also struck me while searching around is how flattened these cocktail glasses have become. The vintage ones I find are more vertical, such at these:

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Martini.jpg


Both of those look to be around the same, 6 ounce size as the vintage ones I have, and all are a great deal more manageable than something like this:

Flat Glass.jpeg


That's also 6 ounces, by the way, and filled properly. Still, it's a little trickier when standing. Turn that into a 10 ounce glass and fill it to the rim, and you have a real problem on your hands. Even if you completely filled the more vertical, vintage glasses, they still will be easier to manage.

Yes, I need to get a life. Or, perhaps, just a martini.
 
Nice rocks glasses. I agree re the flattened martini glass. We have some of those and we never use them because of the additional level of difficulty in handling them.

Interesting. I am guessing that 6 oz was a traditional maximum size for a cocktail glass.

<something like an 8 or 9 ounce Martini. There's nothing good about that.>

Well said. I think part of the size comes from drinks that are not really martinis, that are not as strong as a good martini. Appletinis, Cosmos, and the like.

I also suspect that back in the day spirits were stronger. That 80 proof would have been very low, and that folks drank more things like bottled-in-bond. I do not know how popular Navy strength gin was. However, this Copper & Kings Butchertown brandy I have been using for sidecars is 124 proof. Flavorful, but dangerous.
 
Six ounces on the dot, and that seems about right. I make about a 3 ounce martini/Manhattan/etc., so there's a nice amount of room left at the top after plunking a big ol' olive or cherry in the glass. I have an easily managed drink that also looks good and it quite tasty.

Searching around the intertubes revealed a handful of 6 ounce options for stemmed cocktail glasses. However, I also came across a whole bunch of 8, 10, and even 12 ounce options. My goodness. That 12-ouncer (actually 11.6 ounces) would need something like an 8 or 9 ounce Martini. There's nothing good about that.



They shouldn't be impractical, but modern designs and practices have made them so. Something that also struck me while searching around is how flattened these cocktail glasses have become. The vintage ones I find are more vertical, such at these:

View attachment 920827 View attachment 920828

Both of those look to be around the same, 6 ounce size as the vintage ones I have, and all are a great deal more manageable than something like this:

View attachment 920829

That's also 6 ounces, by the way, and filled properly. Still, it's a little trickier when standing. Turn that into a 10 ounce glass and fill it to the rim, and you have a real problem on your hands. Even if you completely filled the more vertical, vintage glasses, they still will be easier to manage.

Yes, I need to get a life. Or, perhaps, just a martini.

The kind I used to have were of this variety. Tall and thin-stemmed. Very top-heavy.
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TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I do not know how popular Navy strength gin was.

It was not very popular. I understand that it actually was illegal for anyone but the British Navy until fairly recentl. Although I believe that changed prior to the cocktail era, it still was not terribly popular outside of the HM's Navy and their alumni.

I suspect that you are correct about 80 proof being low. That also seems to be a modern development, more modern one than the cocktail era.
 
I agree with you that traditional martini glasses are more than a little unruly. There are some stemless ones that I like (kindof like the image below), and when I make them at home now I end up using coupe glasses.
I have some cool Depression-era glass coupe's that have this really detailed edging, but I already broke one so I'm, always hesitant to use them. They're also smaller than I would like, what I consider a 'normal' sized cocktail fills them to the brim.

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I suppose there is the issue of whether a cocktail should fill the glass to the brim. Among other things, there are different considerations to selling a cocktail in a bar and serving a cocktail at home. I suppose bars like to fill glasses up so that the customer does not think he/she is being shorted. Whereas that is not a concern about home consumption unless one has particularly greedy friends. :) Filling the glass a little less than completely full might help keep part of that cocktail off my floor or my table cloth. On the other hand, some drink just look better when the glass is filled to the brim, or close to it.

I have mixed feelings about stemless martini glasses. Reading on the net the purpose of the stem is supposedly to keep the hands away from the martini contents to keep them from getting warm. Also, to me, the classic look comes with a stem, and going stemless looks a little squat.

I like the look of a coupe glass for martinis, too. For many cocktails, for that matter.

I did notice some criticism on the web of champagne flutes as "too fancy" or something to that effect, which seems bizarre to me. I guess the writers favor coupes. As far as I know, the purpose of a flute is to help preserve the carbonation, and it certainly makes for less chance of slopping around and spillage. A flute does not look too fancy to me. It looks elegant and purposeful.
 
I have mixed feelings about stemless martini glasses. Reading on the net the purpose of the stem is supposedly to keep the hands away from the martini contents to keep them from getting warm. Also, to me, the classic look comes with a stem, and going stemless looks a little squat.
There is something to be said for this, but I don't really consider it much of an issue. I use stemless wine glasses a good amount of the time too, and I don't think that I hold onto the bowl part of the glass enough of the time that it makes a significant difference in drink temperature (even with white wine). The stemless look is definitely different than the classic with a long stem, but I think its a little more contemporary and for sure easier to handle. I've been to a few fancy-dancy places that have 2-piece setups like this where the actual glass has no stem or base at all, it sits in the lower piece which has ice in it so that keeps the drink cold and you just pick it up by underneath the rim when you want another sip (so you don't have the potential issue of warmth from your hand).
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Another thought I have is that a martini should not be consumed too slowly. It is not a fine white wine to be savored at probably closer to room temperature than white wine is often served. it is not a straight up sipping whisky or a whisky on the rocks. It is intended to be served nearly as cold as possible and every drop to be consumed very cold. But for a special glass set up like the one above that meant drinking a martini fairly fast. (Not quite shots of Stoli kept in the freezer cold and fast, but not so far away from that either.) Something about keeping a martini cold for an extended period so it can be sipped, misses something that is the very soul and intended experience of a real martini. Am I wrong?

Perhaps a martini is not the thinking man (or woman's) beverage. Or, it is not the flavor but the overall experience of swallowing a martini that is key.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I've been to a few fancy-dancy places that have 2-piece setups like this where the actual glass has no stem or base at all, it sits in the lower piece which has ice in it so that keeps the drink cold and you just pick it up by underneath the rim when you want another sip (so you don't have the potential issue of warmth from your hand)

I hate those things with a purple passion. Hate them. They are the biggest pain in the butt, ever. They virtually embody all that could go wrong with a cocktail glass.

That photo looks absolutely lovely, but the whole thing works like a disaster. If you have enough ice in the bowl to make any difference at all, the glass does not sit properly (at least, not without some doing). Lifting the glass pretty much is a two-handed job, even with the smaller ones, so you pretty much look and feel like you are drinking soup from a conical bowl. Once you do lift the glass from the bowl, ice water drips from the point. If you are in a humid climate like mine, that bowl sweats something awful, so you have a lovely, large puddle in front of you.

Not to mention that they are ridiculously expensive.

Something about keeping a martini cold for an extended period so it can be sipped, misses something that is the very soul and intended experience of a real martini. Am I wrong?

You are not at all wrong. While a martini is not a shooter, neither is it cognac in a snifter. This gets back to the size of the the drink. The only reason one might need one's martini in bowl that sits in a larger bowl of ice is because it's too dadgum big.
 
I hate those things with a purple passion. Hate them. They are the biggest pain in the butt, ever. They virtually embody all that could go wrong with a cocktail glass.

That photo looks absolutely lovely, but the whole thing works like a disaster. If you have enough ice in the bowl to make any difference at all, the glass does not sit properly (at least, not without some doing). Lifting the glass pretty much is a two-handed job, even with the smaller ones, so you pretty much look and feel like you are drinking soup from a conical bowl. Once you do lift the glass from the bowl, ice water drips from the point. If you are in a humid climate like mine, that bowl sweats something awful, so you have a lovely, large puddle in front of you.

Not to mention that they are ridiculously expensive.
Wait but what do you really think? :001_tt2:
 
Wait but what do you really think? :001_tt2:

You beat me to it!

Actually, those are all fair points, TexLaw. I have never actually experienced that kind of two part, half martini glass, half ice chest. But not that you mention those points, it seems to me that one should be able to consume their martini one-handed, standing up, perhaps while one is attending a chic high-rise Manhattan soiree, while wearing an elegant dinner jacket, and flirting with a bright, lovely woman wearing a daring cocktail dress, while a trio plays just so jazz in the background.

Or, in any event, one-handed, standing up!
 
You beat me to it!

Actually, those are all fair points, TexLaw. I have never actually experienced that kind of two part, half martini glass, half ice chest. But not that you mention those points, it seems to me that one should be able to consume their martini one-handed, standing up, perhaps while one is attending a chic high-rise Manhattan soiree, while wearing an elegant dinner jacket, and flirting with a bright, lovely woman wearing a daring cocktail dress, while a trio plays just so jazz in the background.

Or, in any event, one-handed, standing up!
This sounds like a great event, I need to hang out with you sometime!
 
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