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The Spruce Eats / Sabrina Jiang
There’s a reason the martini is probably the world's best-known cocktail. It’s elegant, easy to make, and decidedly cool. A favorite of James Bond, Frank Sinatra, and Winston Churchill, it's a timeless beverage that's inspired an entire category of glassware.
Whether you prefer vodka or gin, every martini needs a martini glass. But just as you can choose from a rainbow of garnishes—olive, lemon, onion, and more—martini-presentation choices are also endless. Shapes run from the old-timey coupe to the enormous angular glass of the '90s, and materials go from fine crystal to vacuum-insulated steel.
You can find something for every taste and every need out there, and we sorted through all the options to pick out our favorites. Here are the best martini glasses.
Best Overall
Riedel Extreme Martini Glass
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Courtesy of Amazon
Elegant design
Dishwasher-safe
Expensive
Riedel's Extreme glasses are named for their steep angles and striking looks, and the statuesque martini glass in the line is particularly elegant. Standing nearly 7 inches tall, it holds an impressive 8.8 ounces of liquid.
If you’re not one to garnish your drink, this glass needs none, with a chic, slightly curving shape that makes a statement all on its own (and helps thwart the splashes and spills that you often get with an angular V-shaped glass). Though stylishly thin, this glass is dishwasher-safe and surprisingly durable.
Price at time of publish: $49 for 2
Material: Glass | Capacity: 8.8 ounces | Dimensions: 4.5 x 4.5 x 6.9 inches
Best Budget
Libbey Vina Martini Glass
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Libbey
Inexpensive
Classic design
Dishwasher-safe
Capacity is too large
Libbey is a brand you'll see a lot in bars and restaurants. Its glassware looks great, is easy to clean, and is cheap enough that it's not a big deal if customers break (or steal) some. Libbey's Vina glasses are a total classic, with the angular bowl, thin stem and solid foot that scream "martini!" They're also huge—if anything, too huge, as the 12-ounce capacity dwarfs a "normal" cocktail size of 4 ounces or so.
On the other hand, if you want to make enormous '90s-style vodka martinis and serve them in the appropriate '90s-style glass, this is the real deal. Next time you need to throw a martini party for a few dozen people, grab some cases of Libbeys.
Price at time of publish: $30 for 6
Material: Glass | Capacity: 12 ounces | Dimensions: 4.9 x 4.9 x 7.4 inches
Best Coupe
Cocktail Kingdom Leopold Coupe
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Cocktail Kingdom
Inexpensive
Dishwasher-safe
Thick glass
Plain design
Prior to Prohibition, the round, shallow coupe glass was the standard vessel for both cocktails and Champagne, and the 21st-century rebirth of mixology has brought the style back. From Cocktail Kingdom, a brand made for pros by pros, this coupe is an affordable way to get that classic look. The Leopold holds 6 ounces, a bit smaller than some of the others on this list but still more than enough to hold a single martini, Manhattan or daiquiri with plenty of extra sloshing room.
These glasses are sturdy enough for long-term high-volume bar use, made to handle the rough treatment of a commercial dishwasher. On the downside, the durable construction requires thick walls, and the design looks a little plain. But if it's a utilitarian-yet-memorable martini container you want, this one is ideal.
Price at time of publish: $35 for 6
Material: Glass | Capacity: 6 ounces | Height: 5 inches
Best Nick and Nora
Riedel Nick and Nora Cocktail Glasses
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Amazon
Designed especially for martinis
Dishwasher-safe
Small capacity
Expensive
Named for the cocktail-swilling husband-and-wife detective team of "The Thin Man" novel and movies, the Nick and Nora glass is instantly recognizable for its slim, curved silhouette. The elegant shape became a popular martini vessel in the "Mad Men" era and still evokes mid-century-modern style today. Its tall sides also serve a practical purpose, keeping your drink from sloshing out while you carry it around a lively cocktail party.
Riedel’s take on the style is made in collaboration with spirits expert Zane Harris, who spent years researching how to make the ideal glass shape for every drink. This Nick and Nora is designed expressly for martinis and similar high-proof cocktails, with a shape that delivers the liquid to the mid-palate first, where its alcohol burn won't blow out the more sensitive taste buds at the front of the tongue. The elegant thin-walled glasses can only hold a single at a time, but they look nice doing it, and you can throw them in the dishwasher when you're done.
Price at time of publish: $40 for 2, $77 for 4
Material: Glass | Capacity: 4.9 ounces | Dimensions: 3 x 3 x 6 inches
Best Splurge
Waterford Mixology Small Mixed Coupe Set
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Waterford
Fine crystal
Elegant looks
Assorted patterns
Very expensive
Small capacity
Sipping a martini out of the finest crystal doesn't actually change the flavor of the drink, but it absolutely does change the experience. You can turn cocktail hour into luxury cocktail hour with these high-end coupes from the world-famous Waterford, whose crystal sparkle is unmatchable. All four are the same size and basic shape, but the set includes one each in the Argon, Circon, Neon, and Talon patterns. Depending on your taste, that could be good or bad: The glasses don't exactly match, but they do let each person easily identify theirs if friends are enjoying drinks together.
In keeping with the old-school coupe shape, these glasses are quite small, holding just over 4 ounces each. That's enough volume for a decent-sized martini, but instead of making a double, you're going to have to mix a second when you finish the first.
Price at time of publish: $420 for 4
Material: Crystal | Capacity: 4.1 ounces | Dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 x 5.9 inches
Best Stemless
Dragon Glass Stemless Martini Glass
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Amazon
Keeps drinks at a consistent temperature
Resistant to breakage
Non-traditional look
Expensive
A little bit "Swingers" and a little bit "Star Trek," these stemless glasses are not only striking but also useful, with a double-walled design that insulates the cold liquid inside from the warm hand holding it. If you're prone to knocking over glasses or snapping stems, the sturdy base also keeps the glass stable in your hand or on a table, counter, or bar.
Each glass holds 7 ounces—more than enough for a strong martini, cosmopolitan, or other drink served up—but the stemless design makes it compact, at just over 4 inches tall.
Price at time of publish: $35 for 2, $55 for 4, $60 for 6
Material: Glass | Capacity: 7 ounces | Dimensions: 4.4 x 4.4 x 4.3 inches
Best Colored Glass
Estelle Glass Hand-Blown Colored Cocktail Coupes
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Food52
Classic shape
Many color options
Hand-wash only
Expensive
Who says fancy martini glasses have to be colorless? These shallow coupes sit high in the sky thanks to long, elegant stems, and they come in nine different pigment options. (Different retailers have different sets of colors available, so check a few if you're looking for a specific hue.) The bright colors can be credited to the designer’s grandmother, who used to collect carnival glass from vintage shops to show it off at dinners.
These glasses are hand-blown in Poland, unique, special, and priced to match. They're also quite delicate and cannot go in the dishwasher.
Price at time of publish: $205 for 6
Material: Glass | Capacity: 8.25 ounces | Dimensions: 4.4 x 4.4 x 7.3 inches
When it comes to garnishing a martini, Grant G. Gedemer, operations manager at The Godfrey Hotel Chicago, points to the classics: olives or a twist of lemon. For olives, he says queen-size pimiento-stuffed olives are the standard, but blue cheese-stuffed are popular, too. Add two or three to a cocktail pick. If you prefer a twist of lemon, use a citrus peeler to get a nice-sized strip. "You will want to pinch it over the martini with the peel side facing the drink," Gedemer says, "Then rub the peel around the rim of the glass before dropping it in.”
Best Insulated
BrüMate MargTini
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Courtesy of Amazon
Vacuum-insulated
Splash-proof lid
Available in many colors
Expensive
Non-traditional look
Sometimes, you need to take an ice-cold cocktail to go. Whether it's to sit by the pool, to bring on the golf course, or to ride in a Mardi Gras parade, this insulated tumbler will maintain your martini's temperature and keep it from spilling. BrüMate's MargTini (as the name suggests, it can also hold a margarita or any other cocktail) is an ultra-durable vacuum-insulated tumbler that can keep 10 ounces of liquid and ice cold for up to 12 hours. The removable lid makes an airtight seal, with a sliding tab for sipping that renders this tumbler almost entirely spill-proof.
On top of that, the MargTini comes in an astonishing 17 different colors. You can get one with a faux-marble or faux-walnut finish, the sparkly pink-and-green Glitter Mermaid, or many other options.
Price at time of publish: $25
Material: Stainless steel | Capacity: 10 ounces | Dimensions: 4.2 x 4.2 x 4.3 inches
A distinctive modern twist on the classic, the Riedel Extreme Martini Glass is our top pick. For a more budget-friendly choice, the Libbey Vina Martini Glass is the same durable, high-quality vessel you'll find in your favorite bars and restaurants.
What to Look for in Martini Glasses
Material
As you can probably guess, the most common material for a martini glass is, err, glass. There are many different formulations that vary in strength and price, however, so not every type of glass is the same. And then there's crystal, a special form of glass made with added minerals that give it extra strength and sparkle. While crystal is pricier than regular glass, it’s sturdier and will last longer. Other martini "glasses" can be made of more unusual materials like plastic, steel, or ceramic.
Capacity
As in most things, size matters: You simply can't fit 6 ounces of martini in a 5-ounce glass. But a small drink looks lost and a little silly when dwarfed by a massive glass. A single martini (or similar drink) is 3 to 4 ounces in volume, and you want a little more room than that in your glass to avoid splashes and spills. More vintage shapes and styles like coupes and Nick and Nora glasses tend to be fairly small, while the modern V-shaped glasses can get pretty large. This all depends on your taste: If you like a lot of martini at once, you need a bigger glass to hold it.
Durability
A glass with a delicate lip and slim stem looks more elegant and is nicer to sip from than a thicker, clunkier one, but it's also easy to break. Crystal is stronger than normal glass, but it must be washed and dried by hand. If you're a martini-stirrer who treats your glassware with careful reverence, investing in a few fancy-but-fragile glasses could be the right path. But if you're prone to dropping or snapping your stemware, a more inexpensive, thicker glass might be a better choice.
FAQs
How do you hold a martini glass?
Hold your glass by the stem, not the bowl. Holding a glass by the bowl will warm your drink.
How do you chill a martini glass?
It's always a good idea to pour a cold drink into a cold glass. While making your martini in a shaker or mixing glass, add a scoop of ice to the glass to let it chill. Then, discard the ice before straining the drink into the glass. Alternatively, store a few glasses in your fridge to keep them cold and handy at all times.
How full should a martini glass be?
A little room at the top lets you pick up the drink without spilling, but you still want the glass to look mostly full. Aim for a drink that's about an ounce short of the glass's capacity.
What drinks are served in a martini glass?
The martini glass is of course the best choice for a martini, along with any other cocktail served up—that is, without ice. Any drink that's shaken or stirred and then strained is great for a martini glass, such as Manhattans, gimlets, daiquiris, Vespers, and more. You generally shouldn't use a martini glass for drinks served on the rocks, as ice cubes fit awkwardly into its bowl.
Why are martini glasses shaped that way?
Martini glasses are designed with air exposure in mind. The more air that reaches the glass, the more the spirits will open up, which is especially crucial with a spirit-forward cocktail like a martini. The stem also keeps hand heat away from the glass, allowing the drink to stay chilled.
How do you rim a martini glass?
Fill a small plate with sugar, salt, or whatever you want to use to coat the rim. Run a citrus wedge around the rim of the glass, and dip it into the rimming material. Strain the cocktail into the glass as normal, being careful not to spill on the rim.
How We Researched & Tested
To compile this list, our team of editors and contributors spent hours researching the best products on the market in this category, evaluating their key features—like ease of use, material, or price—in addition to reviews from customers and other trusted sources. Our team also incorporated their own personal experiences testing products in their own lives. We then used these insights from our research and testing to assign a star rating from one to five (five being the best; one being the worst) to certain products on the list.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Kate Dingwall is a freelance writer whose work focuses on food, drinks, and travel. She is based in Toronto and holds a Wine & Spirits Education Trust Level III qualification. She loves a good martini.
The Spruce Eats commerce editor Jason Horn updated this roundup. In more than 15 years of writing about cocktails, spirits, and bars, he's sipped from an impressive variety of martini glasses (and assembled an impressive collection of his own). In truth, he prefers the Manhattan, but you drink it from the same glass.
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