Royal Leerdam Rayo

The difference lies in height and what goes into them. The 36 cl highball glass is the tallest model and has room for ice plus a generous pour of soft drink, which you need for a gin and tonic or a high-volume mixed drink. The 32 cl tumbler is lower and wider and works as a water glass or for juice at breakfast. The smallest, at 26.5 cl, is the right size for whisky with an ice cube or for a glass of soft drink with a meal. Compare the shapes in the tumbler glasses and in the highball glasses.

First fill a highball glass with ice and only then pour, so the ice melts more slowly and the drink stays cold until the end. With a gin and tonic, pour the tonic down a bar spoon so the carbonation is retained; the recipe for the gin and tonic explains the proportions. Serve whisky in the small tumbler neat or with one large ice cube, as small cubes melt too quickly. Simply fill the water glass to the top; that is the whole advantage of a stemless glass.

Stemless glasses are the least breakage-prone type there is, simply because the weak transition to a foot is missing. Rayo can go in the dishwasher on any standard programme. Place the glasses upside down with space between them, because glasses pushed into each other can suck tight and break when you pull them apart. With hard water it helps to rinse and dry them straight away, otherwise limescale settles in the faceted base.

The rest of this brand is available at Royal Leerdam. If you're mainly looking for glasses to set the table, take a look at the water glasses. If you want to start mixing drinks at home, you'll find the tools for stirring and pouring in layers among the bar spoons . And with the recipe for the Moscow Mule , you'll fill the 36 cl highball glass just right.