A Well Stocked Bar III

To date we have determined we need trays and ice buckets with generous scoops as the foundation for our bars. The next essential item is glassware. Rather than showing you pictures of glasses, I will instead implore you to buy good quality and in good quantities. In barware this means weighty and wide bottomed: old fashioneds, tumblers, and footed water/iced tea glasses devoid of color. In stemware it means light weight and well proportioned, again without color, and preferably with ground not rolled rims. If you insist on using your dishwasher for stemware go ahead and used rolled rims as they're more durable, but I assure you it's worth hand washing to drink out of a better glass.

Following are my recommendations for the average household, if you never entertain you can certainly scale back and if you're the consummate host by all means add in quantity of the essentials and then in variety.

Essentials:

12+ footed white wineglasses (for reasons of economy or space a good all around wineglass can work for both red and white, but it certainly increases the enjoyment to have both)

12+ footed red wineglasses

12+ footed water/iced tea glasses (make these dishwasher safe)

12+ tumblers or use your Riedel 'O' and similar glasses for this, but please don't use them for white wine

8+ old fashioneds

6+ champagne flutes, unless you're a bruncher in which case I'd have at least 12 on hand

Optional:

6+ brandy glasses (aka Snifter, the same word is also used for a small quantity of a distilled liquor)

6+ dessert wine glasses

6+ irish coffee glasses, a worthwhile purchase for some, you know who you are

12+ shot glasses, if you do shots, and I don't entirely recommend it, you might as well have a great number of glasses on hand, particularly of the souvenir variety

8+ margaritta glasses

8+ martini glasses, though just because you serve a beverage in this glass, despite the almost universal bastardization of the word, it does not make it a martini. More on this topic in a later post

I do not recommend, except for the most ardent ale connoseurs, investing money or storage space in beer mugs or pilsners as footed waters and good old fashioned pint glasses work for beer and myriad other beverages not the least of which is the bloody mary.

The quantities are merely suggestions, you know what you, your friends, and your family drink. Adjust accordingly. The suggestions of 8 or more are generally for "cocktail party" items while i find the items suggesting 6 are pulled out during the course of a "dinner party."