Liqueur glasses

The capacity follows the drink. For rich, sweet liqueurs such as amaretto, Grand Marnier or a home-made nut liqueur, 6 to 8 cl is ample, because you fill it a third at most. Limoncello that comes ice-cold from the freezer asks for the same size, ideally with a thick base that holds the chill. With port and sherry you move up a size to 10 to 12 cl, because those fortified wines are poured in larger measures and need more air to open up.

The shape decides how much you smell. A tulip-shaped glass that narrows slightly towards the top, like the 8.1 cl grappa model, concentrates the vapour; a straight 8 cl cordial glass does not, and lets the alcohol evaporate faster, which is welcome with liqueurs that smell sharp. If you want one glass that can do everything, choose a small stemmed bowl of 12 to 17 cl. Port works in it just as well as rum, and your hand does not warm the drink.

Temperature is the most important variable you can control. Limoncello should come straight from the freezer, in a glass that you chill along with it for fifteen minutes beforehand. Serve amaretto and Baileys at room temperature or with a single ice cube. Cognac, aged rum, and dark herbal liqueurs are best slightly warmer than room temperature, so pour them into a glass you hold in your hand for a moment.

Do not fill the glass more than one-third full. That may seem frugal, but the remaining space allows the aroma to collect, and without that space you mainly taste alcohol. As the conclusion to a meal, the liqueur comes after the coffee, not the other way around. With a Baileys cocktail or something from the range of limoncello cocktails the glass size goes up a notch, because ice or cream is added and you really need those 17 to 23 cl.

Most of the glassware here is lead-free crystal glass: potassium and zinc replace the lead oxide of the past, so the glass still breaks the light just as brightly but gives no heavy metals to the drink. That is not only a health question. Lead-free crystal is also harder, and you notice that in rims that chip less easily when little glasses knock against each other in the cupboard.

Small glasses break more often than large ones, simply because more of them stand in the same space. Put them in the dishwasher upright and with space between them, and use a short glassware programme at fifty degrees at most. Sugary liqueurs leave a sticky film that does not dissolve at low temperatures, so rinse a glass with warm water after limoncello or Baileys. Polish afterwards with a lint-free cloth, because on glasses this small every streak shows.

If you're looking for something to serve a shot or jenever in instead of liqueur, shot glasses are the right choice. Three specific drinks each have their own glassware: limoncello glasses with a thick base, the narrow grappa glasses and the somewhat roomier sherry glasses. If you regularly measure drinks at home, for example because you make your own liqueur, jiggers are more convenient than a measuring cup among the bar tools, because they let you measure two and four centiliters without thinking and you don't have to rinse them out each time.