For a Snack-Sized Martini, There’s No Better Glass Than This

I particularly love these glasses because of the smaller size. I like serving a martini at the beginning of a night, but more than one can sometimes derail the night pretty quickly. So I like to serve what my grandmother calls a ‘snack-sized martini’ or a slightly smaller martini. Usually, I batch my martinis and pop them in the freezer, so that when guests arrive I can pull them out and pour everyone a small splash.

Bartenders love these glasses because of their shape. The slim form and curved rim keep the liquid in the glass—have you ever tried to walk somewhere with a full martini in a V-shaped glass? Good luck!

These glasses will also do a swell job of holding any stirred or shaken glasses outside of martinis. Keep it in the martini family—like a vesper, or a bamboo cocktail, or a whiskey-based cocktail, like a Manhattan or a Rob Roy. 

You could collect vintage glasses, but it’s not always easy to find perfect vintage coupes in matching sets of three, four, five, or more. (And, you have to ensure they’re all without chips or scratches.) That’s why I’ve been keen on Riedel’s iterations. These glasses were developed in collaboration with bartending star Zane Harris. Together with the historic glassware brand, he researched and perfected every portion of the glass, from the size of the stem to the thickness of the lip to the quality of the glass. The resulting glass, along with Riedel’s full line of cocktail-perfected glasses, is perfectly shaped and ushers a ‘tini right to your mid-palate at the perfect cadence.

These glasses are machine-made, making them far more durable than delicate crystal, plus that construction ensures you can pop it on the top shelf of the dishwasher and let it air dry. Despite the recent construction, the shape has a nostalgic flair to it. Essentially, these glasses are elegant and elegantly sized for martinis, but also any sort of cocktail that deserves a stem. For at-home drinkers, it’s a little added refinement to everyday drinking.

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Kate Dingwall is a freelance writer whose work focuses on food, drinks, and travel. Her writing regularly appears in Liquor.com, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, and beyond. She is based in Toronto and holds a Wine & Spirits Education Trust Level III qualification.