Arcoroc Gin

The difference between 3.5 and 5 cl is bigger than it looks. The 3.5 cl is the classic measure, exactly enough for a jenever, a tequila or a herbal bitter, and it is the size you reach for when you buy a round without the evening tipping over straight away. The 5 cl has room for a layered shot or for a drink with a dash of syrup alongside. If you want a small stemmed glass instead of this flat shape, look at the schnapps glasses; if you want to see the wider choice in shapes and materials, that is with the shot glasses, where there are models with a thinner wall as well.

Put shot glasses somewhere cold before you start pouring. A glass out of the freezer keeps spirits at temperature longer than one at room temperature, and that makes a noticeable difference with jenever and vodka. For a B52 you need the 5 cl: pour the coffee liqueur in at the bottom and let the following layers run over the back of a spoon, so they keep floating on one another. A Jägerbomb calls for the smaller glass instead, because it has to drop cleanly into a highball glass of energy drink without catching against the wall halfway down.

These glasses are made of tempered glass and you notice it in the weight of the base. They can go in the dishwasher every day and cope with rapid temperature changes, so you do not have to let them warm up after the freezer. Do watch what stays behind in the base: syrup and liqueur turn sticky and do not always rinse away on a short programme. Put them in the rack upside down and give them a rinse after an evening of sweet shots.

More models from the same manufacturer are at Arcoroc, where alongside the shot glasses you will also find the tumblers and highball glasses from the same hospitality range. If you were actually looking for a roomy balloon glass for gin, you end up at the gin and tonic glasses. And if you pour by measure more often than by feel, a jigger does more for the taste of your drinks than any glass.