Martini Glasses

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The martini glass is probably the most distinctive and easily identifiable cocktail glass in your bar collection. The bowl of the glass is not a bowl at all but rather a cone shape, flaring out to a wide brim at the top, all seemingly balanced on a thin, tall stem.

A traditional martini is created from equal parts of gin and vermouth. It is often garnished with a lime twist or green olive. When ordering a martini, it is typically served “straight” in martini glasses or in rocks glasses if it is ordered “on the rocks”. A variation of this traditional type of martini include ordering it “dirty”, which features added olive juice.

In addition to gin, vodka martinis have also grown in popularity, but they rarely resemble the traditional martini except for the fact that they are served in the same cocktail glasses. Some popular varieties include the appletini, chocolate martini and peach martini.

No bar should be without a selection of martini glasses such as these. It’s been said that the wide brim of the martini glass creates greater surface tension in the alcohol, bringing out the aromas of the gin or vodka in the cocktail. The stem of the glass is also important. Holding the glass by the stem rather than the bowl keeps the martini ice cold and prevents the hand from warming the glass and thereby warming the drink.

The look of the glass, however, is the thing that most people recognize. Martini glasses give drinkers a feeling of sophistication and excitement. In fact, there are entire bars dedicated to martini cocktails, focusing solely on this showy yet classy drink.