The Shapes of Drinking Glasses

DRINKING VESSELS are not just based in fashion. Yes, martini glasses have a certain sexiness to them, but beyond that there are practical reasons behind all those shapes devoted to so many drinks. In the past, when taste and consistency of alcohol wasn't as refined, it stands to reason that artisans took to designing artwork on the drinking vessels themselves. Elaborate glass etchings and beer steins with lively folk images disguised cloudy, imperfect liquids and thick sediment that settled at the bottom. Now that alcohol has become more pleasing to the eyes and palate, the art is in the taste and color of the drink, not the decoration on the glass itself.

A good drinking vessel design keeps fashion and function in mind. For the most part, drinking glasses are examples of good design, in that they efficiently advertise themselves and the firewater they hold. It is easy to surmise what people are drinking from across the bar solely from the shape of the glass they hold. Along with glass shape, color of the drink helps in playing guess-the-drink. Because distilling alcohol has become so advanced, it is often frowned upon to drink from opaque or colored glasses. Beer and wine in particular should be served in clear glasses, as the makers find as much pride in exacting the color of their products as they do for the flavor.

Glass shapes are specific to certain drinks in order to present the best taste to drinkers' tongues. Martini glasses are a prime example. Besides being one of the most recognized drink glasses due to its wide "V" shape, the shape also to keep the ingredients from separating. Certain wine glasses are preferable to others when it concerns taste and aroma. Wine glasses that are wide tend to require the drinker to lower their head toward the glass when drinking, while a narrow glass requires a drinker to tip their head back. Wines have different levels of aromas: fruity aromas are light and are the first to reach the nose when smelling wine from a glass, while smoky aromas are heavier. The shape of glass determines how all of these aspects of the wine -- taste, texture, and aroma -- mingle together in the glass and how they are delivered to the palate.

Some glasses take the job of introducing alcohol the drinker's palate even further. Glasses with a tulip shape -- the rim of the glass flanges outward slightly from slim middle and bulbous bottom -- provide a more exacting way of directing aromas and swiftly directing alcohol to drinkers' taste buds.

Stems on glasses provide more than just an interesting focal point as well. Drinks that are shaken or stirred with ice are not often poured into a glass also filled with ice. For these drinks, the stem provides a way to hold the drink without the warmth from the hand warming the drink. The converse works as well, a good example being the bulbous brandy snifter. Instead of holding this glass gingerly by the stem, the bowl of this glass is designed to be cradled in the palm while the stem hangs through the fingers, allowing the drinker's hand to warm the brandy. Drinks served in highball and lowball glasses include ice, so these glasses are designed without stems.