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See why.The Best Martini and Coupe Glasses
Your best cocktails deserve the best glassware.
By Published Sept. 10, 2020
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What You Need To Know
Technically speaking, you can drink a cocktail out of almost any vessel. A mug, a juice glass, a Mason jar—even a measuring cup will work just fine if your only goal is to convey your drink of choice to your lips. (In Some Like it Hot, Marilyn Monroe’s character famously mixes her Manhattans in a hot-water bottle and serves them in paper cups from the water fountain.) But dedicated glassware can make a big difference in your drinking experience. A good martini or coupe glass elevates the presentation of your cocktail and raises its celebratory spirit.
We’d never reviewed cocktail glasses before, and with home bartending on the rise, it seemed like a good time to do so. We decided to evaluate both martini and coupe glasses, as either type can be used for cocktails that are served “up” (without ice). And while it’s possible to get cocktailware in a wide range of capacities, we limited our focus to glasses with volumes from 5 to 6 ounces, the best size for standard cocktail recipes. In the end, we tested seven models—four martini glasses and three coupe glasses—priced from about $5 to about $25 each.
We’re pleased to say that your cocktail will be delicious in any one of these glasses; they’re all serviceable vessels that hold drinks well and make them look a little fancier than they would in a Mason jar. There are, however, a few factors that you might want to consider in choosing the glass that’s right for you.
Shape Matters for Aesthetics and Transport, but Not for Aroma or Flavor
First, decide whether you want a martini glass or a coupe glass. The two glasses have fairly different shapes. The martini glass has a bowl that’s roughly V-shaped, or conical; the coupe glass has a more rounded, half-spherical shape. Curious to see if the shape had any impact on the perceived flavor or aroma, we drank martinis, daiquiris, and margaritas from each. The results were inconclusive; while a few testers felt that the curves of the coupe glass helped concentrate the aromas of some drinks, ultimately, there was no clear consensus on whether or how the shape mattered. (Our finding tracks with the mixed results seen in existing studies on how wine-glass shape affects sensory perception.)
Instead, the choice of which glass to get is largely aesthetic: Do you prefer the sharp V-shape of the martini glass or the rounder curves of the coupe? You don’t need both types, although it can be nice to have them. Bars often choose one type or the other, based on current trends and individual preferences; going by their example, it’s neither unusual or improper to serve a martini in a coupe glass or a daiquiri in a martini glass. If you’re only goi...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 3 stars out of 3.
These martini glasses impressed everyone who tried them. Lightweight, made of the thinnest crystal, and featuring the longest stems of any glasses we tested, they were very elegant and made for a truly exquisite drinking experience. At the same time, they were still durable, surviving testing with nary a scratch.
- Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 3 stars out of 3.
We liked these crystal martini glasses almost as much as we liked the winners. They’re a tad thicker, and their stems are a touch shorter, but they’re nearly as delicate, chic, and easy to hold. And they’re the lightest glasses we tested—they seemed to almost disappear into our hands. Better still, per piece, they’re half as expensive as our winner, making them a great option if you’d like to save a little money.
- Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Within the coupe-glass category, these glasses were the lightest in weight, with some of the thinnest rims and longest stems. While they weren’t nearly as thin as the crystal martini glasses we tested, they were still quite elegant, entirely pleasant to drink from, and easy for hands of all sizes to hold comfortably. Like the other coupe glasses, these have rims that curve inward slightly, making the glasses especially easy to transport when filled.
Recommended
- Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 2.5 stars out of 3.
We liked these relatively inexpensive coupe glasses a lot. They are just a hair thicker and heavier than our favorites in the category, though they are still chic and eminently nice to drink from. As with the other coupe glasses, the glasses in this set curved inward slightly at their rims, helping to contain our drinks neatly when we walked 25 feet holding them.
- Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Made from a proprietary form of crystal, these martini glasses were relatively thin and lightweight, though not quite as gossamer-thin as our two favorites. And their stems are just a hair shorter than we’d prefer, giving slightly less room for large hands to hold them. Still, they made our drinks look more dignified and graceful, and they were lovely to drink out of.
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 2.5 stars out of 3.
These glass coupes curved inward at a slightly steeper angle than other coupes, so they were especially good at containing drinks when filled to the brim. And testers enjoyed drinking from them even though they were a bit heavier than our favorite coupe glasses. Testers were divided on the length of this model’s stem. The shortest of any we evaluated, it cramped larger hands, though some testers liked that the short stem gave the glass a more petite profile.
- Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Drink Experience: 2.5 stars out of 3.
With the thickest rim of any model we tested, this martini glass provided a rustic rather than refined drinking experience—pleasant enough, but not extraordinary. Perhaps because the glass was so thick, it was also the heaviest model, so we were always conscious of its presence in our hands. But otherwise it was a perfectly serviceable martini glass, with a long stem that was easy to hold. As with other martini glasses, you’ll just want to be careful about transporting these while they’re full, as contents spill easily over the sides.
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing.
Miye Bromberg
Miye is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She covers booze, blades, and gadgets of questionable value.
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