Eva Solo

The choice starts with the volume. The hand-blown 21 cl tumbler is the glass for water with a meal and for a drink on the rocks without overdoing it. The mouth-blown 38 cl tumbler is the all-rounder: spacious enough for a gin and tonic with two ice cubes, yet low enough to tumbler stay on the table all evening. If you want even more room, there is a 48 cl version.

The water glasses with a slanted rim come in the same two larger sizes, 38 and 48 cl, but rise higher up the wall and therefore retain the cold better when a full carafe is on the table. With the water glasses you can see how that proportion compares with straight models. The 24 cl liqueur glass stands out for its size, as that is large for liqueur and better suited to a dessert wine or a generous sherry than most liqueur glasses.

Without a stem, you pour differently. Fill a tumbler to about two-thirds, because the wide opening lets the aroma escape quickly and your hand warms the glass from below. That is not a problem for whisky, but it is for chilled white wine: in that case, it is better to pour a small amount twice than to fill the glass completely once.

With mixed drinks, the shape works in your favor. Build a gin and tonic directly in the glass, starting with ice, then gin, and then tonic poured down the side so the bubbles stay in place. An espresso tonic works well in the 38 cl glass because you can see the espresso descend through the tonic. The slanted rim adds a detail that a straight glass does not have: it makes you pick up the glass the same way every time.

Mouth-blown glass is thinner than machine-made glass and you feel that at the rim. It is not weaker in use, but it is less forgiving of a knock against the tap or against another glass in the sink. So wash by hand, or use a short glassware programme at a low temperature and place the glasses well apart in the rack.

Because the rim is not level, an upturned glass tips over easily on the draining rack. Stand it upright on a tea towel and polish it with a lint-free cloth, and the wall stays streak-free. Limescale shows up sooner on thin glass and disappears with a dash of vinegar in the rinsing water.

If you prefer a series in which every glass is identical, look for machine-blown crystal glass, for example from NUDE Glass, which achieves the same thin wall but with a flat rim and uniform height. If you want to explore Scandinavian craftsmanship further, take a look at the decanters, because a mouth-blown decanter on the table truly highlights the difference from machine-made glass. And if you have the glassware but are missing the tools for a drink, you’ll find them among the cocktail shakers, which also include bar spoons, jiggers, and muddlers.