Royal Leerdam Cocktail

Start from the drinks you make most often. Tropical cocktails with plenty of juice and crushed ice need volume: the 49 cl tiki glass or the 50.5 cl pineapple glass. A 44 cl hurricane has the classic curved shape that suits rum drinks. For anything with a lot of tonic or soda, reach for the 65 cl copa or the 41 cl long drink glass. Shaken drinks served without ice go into the 26 cl martini glass, the 30 cl margarita glass or the 24 cl coupe. There is a 62 cl glass for spritz, and the 35 cl tumbler handles everything served over ice. See also the cocktail glasses and the margarita glasses.

Build a tropical cocktail in the glass rather than in the shaker: crushed ice first, then the juices, then the rum poured over the top so a gradient forms. A pina colada or a mai tai is at its best this way. Never fill a margarita glass to the rim, because the wide bowl spills easily. Put the salt on the outside of the rim, not the inside, otherwise it drops into the drink. Always garnish on the side you do not drink from.

Royal Leerdam machine-makes these glasses in soda-lime glass with a reinforced rim, the same construction that makes the brand's glasses last so long in hospitality. All of them are dishwasher safe. Sugar and syrup are the worst enemies of clear glass, so give a glass a quick rinse after a sweet cocktail before it goes into the machine. Place the stemmed glasses loosely in the rack so the rims do not knock together.

To see what else the brand makes, take a look at Royal Leerdam, where wine and beer glasses sit alongside the cocktail ones. If you are after tropical shapes in particular, you will find them among the tiki glasses. And nothing gets into the glass without the right tools, so have a look at the cocktail shakers as well. Not sure yet which shapes you need? Start with the tumbler and the long drink glass.