L.S.A. Gin

Choose the 38 cl long drink glass if you want a crisp, strongly sparkling gin and tonic with plenty of tonic and little room for garnish. The narrow profile keeps the carbonation from escaping straight away, and 38 cl is enough for ice plus a small bottle of tonic. The 42 cl balloon glass works the other way round: the wide bowl captures the aroma, it takes a lot of ice and leaves room for citrus slices, herbs or peppercorns. If you mostly pour into balloon shapes, the gin and tonic glasses offer more sizes and models.

Fill the glass three-quarters full with ice before you add anything else. That seems like a lot, but plenty of ice melts more slowly than a little, so the drink stays stronger. Pour in the gin next, and let the tonic run down the side of the glass so the bubbles survive. Stir once from bottom to top, no more. The build of a classic gin and tonic is explained step by step, and if you would rather make something with lemon and foam, you will end up at the gin fizz.

The balloon glass has a stem and is therefore the more vulnerable of the two. Place it in the dishwasher in a rack where the bowl cannot tip, and do not let it rest against the long drink glass. Both glasses are thin-walled, so avoid large temperature jumps and do not put ice into a glass that has just come out of a hot cycle. Dry the bowl afterwards with a lint-free cloth.

For tall glasses in other sizes, look at the long drink glasses, and the brand's full range is listed under L.S.A.. Anyone who takes their gin and tonic seriously also needs a bar spoon to let the tonic run in gently without knocking the bubbles out, and a jigger to keep the ratio of gin to tonic the same every time.