Martini glasses

Start with the capacity, because that is where it most often goes wrong. A shaken or stirred cocktail comes to eight to twelve centilitres, and that sits exactly right in a bowl of 15.5 to 21 cl: just below the rim, so you can pick it up without spilling. In a 35 cl glass the same amount looks lost. Large bowls are therefore mainly meant for cocktails with plenty of volume, such as an espresso martini with a foam head or a drink you top up with bubbles.

The second choice is the angle of the wall. A sharp V, like the America'20S from Bormioli Rocco, is the classic silhouette but slops over the rim easily when you walk. A bowl with a slightly curved wall, or a Nick & Nora of 15.5 cl, keeps the contents in better and has become popular in bars for that reason. Finally, look at the stem: thin and long looks more elegant, short and thick survives a busy evening better. For hospitality, the sets of six from Onis and RCR are the practical choice.

Chill the glass before you pour. Five minutes in the freezer, or a minute filled with ice and water, makes a noticeable difference to anything that reaches the table without ice. Tip out the ice water, shake the glass dry and only then pour. A frosted bowl holds the cocktail at temperature considerably longer than a bowl at room temperature.

What goes in determines the technique. Anything made only of spirits you stir in a mixing glass and strain, so the drink stays clear and silky; that is how it goes with a dry martini. As soon as juice, liqueur, egg or coffee joins in, you shake hard instead, because otherwise you never get the airy texture that belongs to it. That goes for an espresso martini and for a cosmopolitan. Always strain, stirred drinks included, and twist a peel over the glass before you drop it in.

Martini glasses rarely break while you are drinking from them. The damage happens in the dishwasher rack and during polishing. Place the bowls apart from one another in a rack with compartments, because stems knocking together are the biggest source of breakage. Choose a short glassware programme at low temperature and use little rinse aid, since a film on the bowl shows up immediately against the light.

Never polish a bowl by holding the stem and twisting the bowl round, because that literally twists the stem off. Hold the bowl itself instead and move the cloth inside it. Store the glasses upright on a shelf where the rim rests on nothing, with some space between the bowls. Limescale marks come off with a dash of vinegar in the rinsing water.

If it is the smaller version with the curved wall you are after, those sit separately with the Nick & Nora glasses. The shallow saucer shape is with the champagne coupe glasses, and the bowls tuned specifically to a coffee cocktail with the espresso martini glasses. If you would rather see the whole spectrum of shapes side by side first, start at the cocktail glasses. And nothing reaches the glass without tools, so have a look at the cocktail shakers as well, where the mixing glasses and strainers are. Still unsure about the right capacity? The questions below settle it.