Vintage Cocktail Glasses: Coupes, Nick and Nora, Martini and Rocks

Vintage cocktail glasses fall into a handful of working shapes: the coupe (champagne saucer), the Nick and Nora, the V-shaped martini or cocktail glass, the tall highball and Collins, the short old fashioned or rocks glass, the champagne flute and the small cordial. Difford’s Guide says three or four shapes cover most drinks.

This hub explains each shape, how to tell them apart, and what makes a vintage set worth buying. It also links to our guides on colored glass and on the designers and crystal makers behind the best-known sets.

Coupe glasses (champagne saucers)

The coupe is a wide, shallow bowl on a stem. Difford’s Guide notes that it is also known as the champagne saucer and calls it perfect for straight-up drinks, with a typical capacity of about 7 oz (20 cl).

Its history is older than the cocktail. Apollo Magazine traces breast-shaped drinking cups back to Greek mastos cups of the 4th century BC and treats the story that the coupe was modeled on Madame de Pompadour or Marie Antoinette as legend.

The wide bowl let bubbles escape, which suited drinkers who did not prize fizz. By the late 1930s, tastes had shifted toward more effervescence, and the flute took over for champagne.

That shift left collectors a supply of etched and cut crystal coupes, now used for drinks served up.

What is the name for the martini glass?

The glass most people picture for a martini is formally a cocktail glass: a stemmed glass with an inverted cone bowl. Wikipedia’s entry on the cocktail glass notes that “martini glass” is the common alternative name, and that the stem lets you hold the drink without warming it.

The same entry says older examples were typically around 4 oz, and Difford’s Guide puts the maximum at about 7 oz. Size is a useful clue: VinePair notes that large conical glasses dominated bars in the 1980s, so a very large, wide V is less likely to be early.

What glass is a Vesper served in?

In Ian Fleming’s 1953 novel Casino Royale, Bond orders the Vesper in a deep champagne goblet, according to Wikipedia and Difford’s Guide. Difford’s own recipe uses a martini glass. A coupe or a deep-bowled champagne glass sits closest to the book. Our guide to the Vesper martini glass compares the shapes and explains how to buy a vintage goblet.

Nick and Nora glasses

The Nick and Nora is a small stemmed glass with a tall, rounded bowl and a narrow mouth, holding about 5 oz. The shape dates from the 1930s, but the name is recent: bartender Dale DeGroff gave it in 1987, after the detective couple of The Thin Man, when he revived the glass for the Rainbow Room in New York. Our guide to Nick and Nora glasses covers the story, how it differs from a coupe and what to look for in a vintage one.

Highball and Collins glasses

Both are tall tumblers for drinks with ice and a mixer. Difford’s Guide describes the Collins as tall, slim and straight-sided at about 12 to 14 oz, and the highball as slightly squatter and smaller, with 8 oz the most useful size. Mid-century American highballs are where printed and gold-decorated barware shines. Our guide to vintage highball glasses covers the two shapes, decorated sets with caddies, and how to use and wash painted glass safely.

Old fashioned, rocks and roly poly glasses

The old fashioned glass is a short tumbler with a wide brim and a thick base, strong enough for muddling. Wikipedia lists rocks glass, whiskey glass and lowball as other names, with a standard size of 6 to 10 US fl oz. The larger double old fashioned, or DOF, holds 12 to 16 US fl oz.

Difford’s Guide treats the rocks glass as a sturdier, more utilitarian old fashioned, often with thicker glass and rim. “Roly poly” usually refers to a rounded short tumbler. The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles describes Dorothy Thorpe’s 1950s Roly-Poly tumblers, each with a sterling silver band around the top; see our guide to Dorothy Thorpe glassware.

Heavy cut crystal tumblers from the great European houses also fall in this family. Baccarat’s Harcourt line, designed in 1841, includes glasses and decanters and remains in production, so condition and marks matter when you buy an older piece. See how to identify Baccarat crystal for the marks by period.

For crystal tumbler sets with matching decanters, and groomsmen gift ideas, see vintage whiskey glasses and decanters.

Flutes and cordials

The champagne flute is tall and narrow. Difford’s Guide puts it at about 6 oz and recommends it for champagne cocktails because the slim shape holds the bubbles. Apollo Magazine notes that the flute became the preferred champagne glass by the late 1930s.

Cordials are the smallest stemmed glasses in a vintage bar set, made for after-dinner sips, and they sometimes come with a matching decanter; see collecting vintage crystal decanters.

Colored, gilded and designer glasses

Cobalt, ruby, amber and uranium glass each have their own collectors. Our guide to vintage colored glassware explains what gives each color its tint and why uranium glass glows under UV light.

Vintage colored glassware

Mid-century barware designers

Culver barware

How to buy vintage glasses safely

Ask for photos of every glass, held against light, plus close views of the rims and any marks: a group photo can hide one chipped glass. Check whether a listing counts glasses or pieces. Our guide to buying vintage barware on eBay safely covers the rest.

Guides in this series

The Vesper martini glassBond's deep champagne goblet and the vintage glasses that match it.

Vintage cocktail shakersCobbler, Boston and Parisian styles, and what collectors look for.

Vintage punch bowlsPressed glass, cut crystal and silver sets, and what a full set includes.

Holiday table glasswareWhich glasses a Thanksgiving or Christmas place setting needs.

• Nick and Nora glasses: the 1930s shape, the 1987 name and vintage versions.
• Vintage highball glasses: highball vs Collins, decorated sets and caddies.
• Collecting vintage crystal decanters: the decanter hub.
• How to identify genuine Baccarat crystal: marks by period.