Key points
- The V-shaped martini glass looks the part and spills on the way to the table. Bars largely abandoned it for the coupe, a shallow rounded bowl that holds a drink steady.
- The Nick and Nora is a small, tall-sided bell on a stem. It holds a 4 to 5 ounce drink without spilling and keeps it colder longer than a coupe.
- For a home bar, a set of four coupes covers almost every stirred or shaken drink. Add Nick and Noras if you pour small and precise. Keep martini glasses for the look only.
- Capacity to the brim should be 5 to 7 ounces. A 10 ounce coupe makes a 4 ounce cocktail look lost.
Stemmed glasses are for drinks served without ice, where the stem keeps a warm hand off a cold drink. Three shapes dominate and they are not interchangeable. The martini glass is the one everyone recognises and the one bars quietly stopped using. The coupe took its place. The Nick and Nora is the specialist’s choice. Here is why, and what a home bar actually needs.
If you want the short answer: four coupes of 5 to 7 ounces in lead-free crystal. Add two Nick and Noras if you make a lot of stirred drinks. Buy martini glasses only if you love the silhouette and will carry them very carefully.
The martini glass
The V-shaped cocktail glass is a twentieth-century icon and a poor piece of engineering. The sides are straight and flare wide, so a full glass has a large surface area and nothing to hold the liquid in as it moves. The drink warms fast, loses aroma fast, and spills over the rim on the walk from counter to sofa. The long stem and wide bowl also make it the easiest glass in the house to knock over.
Modern versions have shrunk from the 10 ounce monsters of the nineties to 6 or 7 ounces, which helps. The shape still spills. Bars moved away from it for exactly that reason.
The coupe
A coupe has a shallow, rounded, saucer-like bowl on a stem. The curve of the wall holds the drink as the glass moves, so a coupe filled to a sensible level can be carried across a room. Surface area is still generous, so aroma shows well and the drink warms at a moderate rate.
The useful size is 5 to 7 ounces to the brim, which holds a 4 to 5 ounce shaken or stirred drink with a safe margin. Larger coupes, 8 to 10 ounces, are made for sparkling wine and leave a cocktail looking small.
Coupes suit shaken drinks, sours and anything with foam, because the wide surface shows the texture. They are the one stemmed glass to buy if you buy only one.
The Nick and Nora
Named after a pair of film characters from the 1930s and revived by bartenders in the 2010s, the Nick and Nora is a small bell-shaped bowl with tall curved sides on a slim stem. Capacity is 5 to 6 ounces, and a 4 ounce drink sits well below the rim.
The tall sides mean a small surface area, so the drink stays cold longer and holds its aroma. It is almost impossible to spill. It suits stirred, spirit-forward drinks served up, and it makes a small, precise pour look generous.
Its limit is capacity. A large shaken drink with egg white does not fit, and the narrow mouth hides foam. It is a second glass, not a first.
Stems, feet and stability
A stemmed glass stands on its foot, and the ratio of foot diameter to bowl height sets how easily it tips. Coupes have a wide foot and a short stem and are the most stable of the three. Nick and Noras are tall and light and want a steady table. Martini glasses have the worst ratio of all.
Stems snap, usually in the dishwasher or in the hand while drying. Thicker stems in lead-free crystal survive longer than fine stems in soda-lime glass. Owners who report breakages nearly always describe stems, not bowls.
Material
Lead-free crystal gives a thin, clear bowl that is strong enough for a dishwasher’s top rack. Soda-lime glass is cheaper and heavier and looks it in a stemmed glass. Leaded crystal is beautiful, hand-wash only, and clouds in a machine, which our guide to glass materials covers.
How many
Four coupes serves a dinner party where two people want a cocktail and two break a glass. Two Nick and Noras covers a couple who make stirred drinks. Martini glasses, if bought, in pairs for the look.
Sets and spares
Stemware breaks at the stem and rarely at the bowl, so a set of four coupes tends to become three within a couple of years. Buying six, or buying a pattern the maker keeps in production so a replacement matches, is the practical hedge.
Who should not buy stemmed glasses at all
Anyone whose drinks all go over ice. Anyone with a small cupboard, because stemware stacks badly and takes a shelf. And anyone with a house full of table edges and elbows, where a rocks glass survives and a coupe does not.
How we choose glassware
When we recommend stemmed glasses in our glassware section, each pick lists capacity to the brim, height, foot diameter, stem thickness, material and dishwasher guidance, plus what owners report after a year about stems. Our full process is on the how we choose page.
Final verdict
Coupe first, 5 to 7 ounces, four of them, in lead-free crystal. Nick and Nora second for stirred drinks. Martini glass last, and only for the silhouette.
Questions people ask
Why did bars stop using martini glasses?
The wide, flat-sided V has a huge surface area and no lip to hold the liquid, so anything above two thirds full slops over when carried. Coupes and Nick and Noras hold the same drink with a rounded wall that keeps it in.
What size coupe should I buy?
Five to seven ounces to the brim. A classic shaken drink is 4 to 5 ounces after dilution, and a coupe that size looks full without being dangerous. Larger coupes are sold for sparkling wine and dwarf a cocktail.
Is a Nick and Nora the same as a small coupe?
No. A coupe is wide and shallow; a Nick and Nora is narrow with tall curved sides. The Nick and Nora exposes less surface, so the drink stays cold longer and loses aroma slower, and it is harder to spill.
