Stackable glasses

First check whether the glass was actually designed to stack rather than just happening to fit inside itself. A true stacking range has a visible stacking ring or a ribbed inner wall, which leaves air between two glasses. That prevents suction and it also prevents scratches, because glass on glass under weight abrades.

Then choose the size by use. Around 21 to 26 centilitres is the soft drink and water size. Between 32 and 35 cl you get a tumbler that can also handle beer or a longdrink, and 40 cl or more is meant for cold drinks with plenty of ice. The handy thing about a stacking range is that the sizes within one line fit together, so it pays to stay within a single series. Finally, look at the base. A thick base makes the glass stable but also heavier to lift when you have six of them stacked up. Four to six high is the safe limit in practice.

Only stack dry glasses. Moisture between two glasses acts like glue and is the main reason glasses get stuck. So let them drain and cool completely after washing before you set them on top of one another, opening down on a rack.

If two do get stuck, do not force anything. Stand the lower glass in warm water and fill the upper one with cold water: the lower expands, the upper contracts and they usually release within a minute. Pulling and twisting snaps the rim off, and that is exactly the part you put to your lip. Otherwise you use a stacking glass like any other tumbler. For a gin and tonic, fill it generously with ice before you pour, and for a cuba libre the same size works with a slice of lime in the bottom.

Almost all stacking glasses are made of tempered glass, and that is no coincidence. Stacking means glass constantly meets glass, and tempered glass has a rim that stands up to that considerably better. Arcoroc also tempers the rim separately, which turns the weakest point of the glass into the strongest.

They go through the dishwasher without trouble on a normal glassware programme. Stand them separately in the basket and do not stack them inside the machine, or the inside will not come clean. Limescale shows up clearly on the wall of a tapered glass, so rinse with a dash of vinegar in the water if your tap water is hard. Check the rim now and then for small chips and take a damaged glass out of circulation.

If you want the same low model but not stackable, the full offering sits under tumbler glasses, and you will find the tall models under longdrink glasses. For water at the table, look at the water glasses. If you would rather stay within one brand, the ranges from Arcoroc are grouped together and so are those from Onis. For a longdrink in a stacking glass, the build of the gin and tonic is set out with the ratio and the ice, and the same size works for a cuba libre.