Bonwits

The glass for a drink served up.

A cocktail served up has no ice to hide behind, so the glass does more work than usual. It needs a stem, a sensible size and a shape that gets the drink from the bar to the table without slopping half of it on the floor.

By the Bonwits editors
Updated September 25, 2026
5 picks
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The glass for a drink served up

The short list.

5 picks. Tap any to check today’s price.

  1. The honest entry point
    Libbey Signature Kentfield Coupe Cocktail Glasses, Set of 4
  2. The bar supplier's coupe
    Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Coupe Glass, 7.5 oz, 6 Pack

    No. 02Cocktail Kingdom

    Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Coupe Glass, 7.5 oz, 6 Pack

    $50 on Amazon today

  3. The one to buyOur pick
    Riedel Nick & Nora Large Crystal Glasses, Drink Specific Glassware, Set of 2
  4. If you want the classic V
    Zwiesel Glas Pure Martini Glass, Set of 6

    No. 04Schott Zwiesel

    Zwiesel Glas Pure Martini Glass, Set of 6

    $102 on Amazon today

  5. If money is no object
    Zwiesel 1872 Enoteca Handmade Martini Cocktail Glass, 9.9 oz, Set of 2

Before you buy

Read this first.

Picks
5
Price range
$36 to $125
Updated
September 25, 2026

There are three shapes for a stirred or shaken drink without ice. The V-shaped martini glass, shown at the 1925 Paris Exhibition as a modern take on the Champagne coupe. The coupe itself, round and shallow. And the Nick and Nora, a small bell on a long stem, revived by the bartender Dale DeGroff in the late 1980s for the Rainbow Room after he found the shape in an old catalog.

The V glass looks the part and spills the most. Its wide, flat top is why so many bars have moved to coupes and Nick and Noras, which carry a drink with higher sides and a narrower mouth. The size matters as much as the shape. A classic cocktail glass held about 4 ounces. Many modern martini glasses hold 10 or 12, which is either a very large drink or a small one that warms before you finish it.

So the choice is less about fashion than about the drinks you make. If you stir martinis and Manhattans, a Nick and Nora of 5 or 6 ounces is the most practical glass there is. If you shake sours and serve the odd glass of Champagne, a coupe covers both. We looked at glass from bar suppliers and the big German makers, read the listings and maker specs, and sorted by what each one costs to own.

What we judged on.

4 tests, applied to every pick below

  1. 01

    A sensible size

    A stirred drink is about 3 to 4 ounces before dilution. Glasses of 5 to 8 ounces leave room to carry it; much bigger and the drink looks lost.

  2. 02

    Stability

    Tall stems and wide bowls tip. We favored glasses with a heavy foot and a bowl that does not slosh on the walk to the table.

  3. 03

    Dishwasher tolerance

    Cocktail glasses are used in rounds and washed in batches. Every pick here is rated for the dishwasher by its maker or listing.

  4. 04

    Cost per stem

    Stemmed bar glass breaks at the base. We weighed the price of one glass and whether sets are small enough to replace sensibly.

No. 01The honest entry point

Libbey

Libbey Signature Kentfield Coupe Cocktail Glasses, Set of 4

A tall, clear coupe at about $9 a glass that does cocktails and Champagne equally well.

Libbey Signature Kentfield Coupe Cocktail Glasses, Set of 4
Price
About $36 for four (Amazon today: $36.00)
Keeps for
Years; the usual end is a snapped stem, not wear
Capacity
9 oz
Size
6.6 in tall, 4.1 in wide
Material
ClearFire glass
Dishwasher
Yes (listing)
Sold as
Set of 4, gift boxed

Libbey has supplied American bars and restaurants for well over a century, and the Signature Kentfield is its home version of a classic coupe: a 9 ounce bowl on a long pulled stem, 6.6 inches tall, in what Libbey calls ClearFire glass for clarity. The foot is reinforced and flat, and the stem is seamless.

Nine ounces is generous for a coupe. A shaken daiquiri or a sour sits comfortably with room to carry it, and the same glass pours a coupe of Champagne or holds a dessert. It goes in the dishwasher, and at this price nobody minds when one does not come back out.

Skip it if you want the weightless feel of crystal, or if you mostly stir small martinis. For a 3 ounce drink, the bowl is on the large side.

The catch. Soda-lime glass is thicker at the rim than crystal, and you feel it on the lip.

No. 02The bar supplier's coupe

Cocktail Kingdom

Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Coupe Glass, 7.5 oz, 6 Pack

A working bar coupe from the supplier many cocktail bars buy from, at under $10 a glass.

Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Coupe Glass, 7.5 oz, 6 Pack
Price
About $50 for six (Amazon today: $49.99)
Keeps for
Years; built for commercial dish racks
Capacity
7.5 oz (225 ml)
Material
Glass
Use
Designed for commercial bars
Dishwasher
Yes; fits commercial dish racks
Sold as
6 pack; also a 6 oz size

Cocktail Kingdom sells bar tools and glass to the trade, and Leopold is one of its house lines. The coupe comes in two sizes, 6 and 7.5 ounces. The larger is the more useful at home: enough room for a shaken drink with a little foam, and still small enough that a stirred Manhattan does not look stranded.

It is designed for commercial use, which is the point. The maker says it is dishwasher safe and fits commercial dish racks, and the glass has the plain, slightly sturdy build of something meant to be washed hundreds of times. It looks right on a bar cart without looking precious.

Skip it if you want thin crystal, or if you only need two glasses. It comes in a six pack, and the next size up is a case of 24.

The catch. The maker publishes almost no specs beyond size, including where it is made.

No. 03The one to buy

Riedel

Riedel Nick & Nora Large Crystal Glasses, Drink Specific Glassware, Set of 2

The most practical glass for a stirred drink, in thin machine-made crystal at a fair price.

Riedel Nick & Nora Large Crystal Glasses, Drink Specific Glassware, Set of 2
Price
About $49 for two (Amazon today: $49.00)
Made in
Germany
Keeps for
Years of dishwasher use
Capacity
198 ml (6.7 oz)
Material
Lead-free crystal, machine made
Made
Germany
Dishwasher
Yes (maker)
Sold as
Set of 2

Riedel's Drink Specific Glassware line was designed with the American bartender Zane Harris, and the Large Nick and Nora is its best piece. The bowl holds about 198 ml, or 6.7 ounces, with a light optic pattern, high sides and a narrow mouth. The drink reaches the mid-palate without tipping your head back, and it does not slop on the way to the table.

It is machine made in Germany from lead-free crystal and rated dishwasher safe. That makes it thinner at the rim than bar glass, but not so fine that you hesitate to use it on a weeknight. A martini, a Manhattan, a Negroni served up or a pour of good sherry all sit well in it.

Skip it if you shake a lot of frothy sours, which want the wider mouth of a coupe, or if you need a dozen at once. Riedel sells it in pairs.

The catch. Sold only in pairs, so a party's worth adds up quickly.

No. 04If you want the classic V

Schott Zwiesel

Zwiesel Glas Pure Martini Glass, Set of 6

The V-shaped martini glass in tough German crystal, large enough that you should not fill it.

Zwiesel Glas Pure Martini Glass, Set of 6
Price
About $102 for six (Amazon today: $101.95)
Made in
Germany
Keeps for
Many years; Tritan is made to resist chips
Capacity
About 12.3 oz (brim)
Height
7.9 in
Material
Tritan crystal glass, lead-free
Made
Machine made, Germany
Dishwasher
Yes (listing)

If the martini has to be in a V, this is a good one. Zwiesel Glas, the brand long sold as Schott Zwiesel and distributed in the US by Fortessa, makes the Pure line in Germany from Tritan crystal, its lead-free glass that uses titanium in place of lead and is designed to resist chipping and breakage.

The Pure martini is angular and modern, 7.9 inches tall, and it holds about 12.3 ounces to the brim. That is the modern oversized martini. Pour a normal drink and there is a lot of glass above it, which looks elegant and keeps the drink from sloshing over the edge, if you are careful.

Skip it if you have guests who walk and talk with a drink in hand, or if you prefer a small, cold drink finished before it warms. The Nick and Nora is kinder on both counts.

The catch. Wide V bowls are the easiest cocktail glass to spill from, and this one is big.

No. 05If money is no object

Zwiesel 1872

Zwiesel 1872 Enoteca Handmade Martini Cocktail Glass, 9.9 oz, Set of 2

A mouth-blown cocktail glass, very light and thin at the rim, and more forgiving in the dishwasher than its weight suggests.

Zwiesel 1872 Enoteca Handmade Martini Cocktail Glass, 9.9 oz, Set of 2
Price
About $125 for two (Amazon today: $125.48)
Made in
Hungary (handmade)
Keeps for
As long as it avoids the sink edge
Capacity
9.9 oz
Size
7.8 in tall, 4.7 in wide
Material
Tritan crystal, mouth blown
Made
Handmade in Hungary
Dishwasher
Yes, with care over rack prongs

Zwiesel 1872 is the handmade line from the same house as Zwiesel Glas, and Enoteca is its top stemware. The martini glass is mouth blown in Hungary from Tritan crystal, the titanium and zirconium oxide glass the maker rates for resistance to breakage, chipping and thermal shock.

It holds 9.9 ounces and stands 7.8 inches tall, 4.7 inches across. The walls and rim are the thinnest in this guide, which is what you pay for: a cold martini in it feels like nothing in the hand. The maker also suggests it for grappa, sherry, cordials and brandy.

Skip it if you break glasses at any regular rate. It is rated for the dishwasher, but the maker warns against forcing the bowl over rack prongs and against twisting bowl and stem while drying by hand, which is how most fine stems end.

The catch. At over $60 a stem, a single breakage costs more than a set of the Libbeys.

Chill the glass

A drink served up has no ice, so it warms from the moment it is poured. Keep two or four glasses in the freezer, or fill them with ice and water while you mix and tip it out before you pour. Both work. Thin crystal chills and warms faster than thick glass, which is another reason to keep the drink small.

Size the glass to the drink

Historically a cocktail glass held about 4 ounces. A 5 to 7 ounce glass is the practical size for a stirred drink today. Glasses of 10 ounces and more look impressive and invite either an enormous pour or a drink that sits too low in the bowl.

If you own only one shape, make it the one that fits what you drink most. Stirred and spirit-forward, a Nick and Nora. Shaken, frothy or sparkling, a coupe.

What to avoid

Skip stemless martini glasses, which warm in the hand, and very wide V glasses on thin stems, which tip. Avoid heavily cut or colored glass for anything you want to see the color of.

Questions.

What is the difference between a coupe and a Nick and Nora?

A coupe is wide and shallow. A Nick and Nora has a smaller bowl with higher sides and a narrower mouth, so it spills less and holds aroma better. Both are good; the Nick and Nora suits stirred drinks, the coupe suits shaken ones.

Why did bars move away from the V-shaped martini glass?

It spills easily. The wide, flat surface and open angle make it hard to carry a full glass, and modern versions are often far larger than the drink.

Can I use a coupe for Champagne?

Yes. The coupe was a Champagne glass first. It loses bubbles faster than a flute, but it is pleasant for a toast.

How big should a martini glass be?

Five to seven ounces covers a normal stirred martini with room to carry it. Anything over ten ounces is built for looks.

Can cocktail glasses go in the dishwasher?

Every glass in this guide is rated dishwasher safe by its maker or listing. Load tall stems carefully, and do not force a bowl down over the rack prongs.

Sources.

  1. Riedel: Nick & Nora Large
  2. Cocktail Kingdom: Leopold coupe glass
  3. Libbey: Kentfield coupe cocktail glasses
  4. Wikipedia: Nick & Nora glass
  5. Wikipedia: Cocktail glass

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