Luigi Bormioli Bach

The 60 cl gin glass is the best-known piece in the series and it explains itself the moment you fill it: that space is meant for plenty of ice, a generous splash of tonic and a garnish that does not lie flat on the drink. There is also a version with an orange accent. Going smaller, there is the 33.5 cl tumbler for whisky on the rocks, a more compact 25.5 cl for water, and long drink glasses of 36 and 48 cl. The bowls are 28 cl for white wine and 40 cl for red, and there is a 21 cl flute and a 26 cl martini glass.

Fill a 60 cl gin glass right up with ice before anything else goes in. Too little ice melts faster and dilutes your drink more, which you taste immediately in a gin and tonic. The 33.5 cl tumbler is the size for a negroni over one large cube, and you use the 7 cl liqueur glasses for something sweet from the matching 73.1 cl decanter, which has an airtight stopper and so also keeps its contents longer.

SON.hyx is the crystal glass from Luigi Bormioli, tempered in the kiln so that rim and stem take more knocks than ordinary crystal. The brand backs it with a long-term guarantee against clouding in the dishwasher. Still, wash on a short glassware programme and rinse afterwards, because the cut surfaces hold on to detergent and that is exactly what makes the facet pattern go dull.

To see what else falls under this same brand, the other series are gathered at Luigi Bormioli, from Atelier to Talismano. If you are shopping purely by shape and want to line the 60 cl up against other brands, take a look at the gin and tonic glasses. The decanters from Bach appear among the other whiskey decanters, and if you already have the glassware but are missing something to measure with, the jiggers are ready and waiting.