How To Do Just About Everything
By ValerieDavid
Use the Correct Glass for Alcoholic Drinks
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Facing aisles of glass and barware at your local home store can be overwhelming, but a lot of these choices are just variations on a basic theme. Depending on what type of alcohol you and your guests drink, there's a standard style of glass that's perfect to use. These glasses are designed not only for the best presentation of a drink, but also for the best enjoyment of the alcohol's aroma, carbonation and flavor. Read on for guidelines on how to choose and use the correct glass for alcoholic drinks.
Champagne or sparkling wine. Tall, narrow glasses, sometimes tapered in at the top, sometimes fluted. Champagne connoisseurs advise that tapered styles are better for keeping your drink bubbly.
White and red wines. Wine glass enthusiasts may own a whole array of glasses, each one suited to a different style of wine. The width and tapering at the top is designed to spill the wine onto the precise areas of the mouth and tongue best suited to savoring that particular wine. For the average party host, however, two types of glasses should suffice. White wine is usually served in a more slender, tapered glass, while reds are generally offered in shorter glasses with wider bowls. See Tips and Resources sections.
Martini glass. Probably one of the most recognizable pieces of barware, this glass with the distinctive flared top is the right accessory for the perfect martini. It also can be used for other mixed drinks, like a Brandy Alexander.
Margarita glass. Shallow, wide-mouthed bowls (sometimes welled, as pictured) perched on narrow stems. Like the martini glass, this can also be used for other mixed drinks.
Cordial or liqueur glasses. Cordials have strong flavors and pack a lot of punch; therefore, they're served in small quantities. There's a lot of variety in cordial glasses, with tulip, round, or fluted designs, on long stems or short, or as simple mini tumblers. The unifying feature is the size, 2 to 2.5 oz., similar to a shot glass.
Shot glass. Like the cordials, shot glasses are small, in the 1.5- to 2-oz. range. The most common design is the short, tapered design made of thick glass pictured here. Shots are used to measure the alcohol that goes into mixed drinks, or for drinking a small amount of straight alcohol.
Beer pint. The most common type of beer glass you'll find is the pint glass, a tall, sturdy, conical tumbler that can have straight sides or a slight bulge for improved grip (as pictured).
Variety beer glasses. Like wine, there are options available if you want to get fancy with your beer glasses. Some options include, from left to right, the Pilsner glass, chalice (goblet) and mug style. Pilsner glasses are good for light ales and lagers, chalices are preferred for heavy Belgian ales, and a mug works well with heavier ales, stout and lagers (or any beer your want to drink a lot of!) The mug pictured is the traditional European design with a hinged lid. See Resources section.
Highball glasses. Mixed drinks, particularly those served with ice ("on the rocks") such as Seven and Seven, gin and tonic, and rum and Coke can be served in the tall, straight or tapered highball glass, or the shorter "old-fashioned" glass. Each style generally runs in the 8- to 10-oz. range. Tall highball glasses are often used for non-alcoholic drinks like sodas, tonics and iced tea.
Brandy snifter. These round bowl glasses hold 6 to 8 oz. and sit on a short pedestal. The glass should taper in slightly at the top. See Tips section.
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