Glass guide: How to choose the right glass for the right drink

Sipping wine in your home cups is fine for a barbeque at home, but it’s just not apt for the party you’re going to hosts for your guests. Here is a guide to the perfect glass to go with your cocktail.

If you think guzzling beer in a champagne flute is okay, think again. Every drink has its glass for a reason. “It’s important to have the right glass to maintain the essence of a drink and retain its aromas,” says mixologist Gaurav Dhyani, Molecule Air Bar restaurant.

Red Wine Glass: Red wines are typically served in larger bowled glass to deliver a smoother taste. Reds are bigger and bolder wines so they require a larger glass to allow all those aromas and flavours to emerge properly. While the various shapes and sizes can be a tough to understand, a proper varietal glass pairing can make a big difference to the way your drink. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Lowball: This one’s short in height, and wide-mouthed. Also known as the rocks glass and Old Fashioned glass, it’s used for drinks that are densely topped with ice. The glass is typically used to serve scotch and soda, and bourbon and water. Drinks that use sugar, bitters and liqueurs for flavour are often served in lowball glasses. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Flute: Raising a toast at your best friend’s wedding? These tulip-shaped flute glasses are perfect to hold your champagne. The glass helps maintain the bubbly’s carbonation, and the stylish shape is also designed to retain the look of the rising bubbles. A good champagne flute is known to keep your bubbly potent and fizzy, for a longer period of time. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Imperial Pint: Every beer lover has their own collection of pint glasses sitting in the house. Imperial Pints are one type of beer glassware. The glasses have a slight ridge towards the top that makes them easier to be stacked in your home bar, and have a big swig off the glass. (Getty Images)

Snifter: Brandy lovers know the importance of keeping this drink warm to retain its taste. The snifter is a short-stemmed glass with a wide bottom and a relatively narrow top. The wider base allows room for the aromas and the round bottom makes it easy to cup in your hands. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Mugs and Steins: If you’re one of those who like to have cocktails with deep flavours and in large quantities, this one’s for you. The wide, cylindrical mug has thick glass walls to help insulate your beer and a large handle makes it easy to carry your drink. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Martini: “Every cocktail has a different configuration and requires a special kind of glass. For instance, a martini is a frozen drink for which one needs to use a long stem glass so that the drink does not melt due the warmth of your hand,” says Vasul Chauhan, co-owner at Feel Alive restaurant. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Highball: The highball glass is perfect for carbonated cocktails. They are typically used with highball drinks, which include a larger proportion of mixer. If you order for scotch and soda combination or a whiskey and coke, you should be using this type of glass. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)