What's a coupe glass?

A coupe is a stemmed wide-bowled cocktail glass, less narrow than a martini glass, typically holding 5 to 7 ounces. It's the canonical glass for cocktails served up that are not specifically Martinis.

The coupe is the classic 'served up' cocktail glass — saucer-shaped bowl, full stem, 5 to 7 oz capacity. It predates the V-shaped martini glass by about a century and is what bartenders used for almost everything before mid-century. Modern craft bars have largely returned to the coupe because: (1) The shape doesn't spill as readily as a martini glass — the wide-and-shallow profile is more stable. (2) The aromatic surface area is larger, so subtle cocktail aromas come through better. (3) It looks better photographed. Cocktails served in a coupe: Daiquiri, Manhattan, Sidecar, Cosmopolitan, Aviation, Last Word, French 75, Brooklyn, Hemingway Daiquiri. A Nick and Nora glass (named after the Thin Man movies) is similar — a slightly more bell-shaped variant — and is interchangeable with the coupe in most modern recipes. If you're buying one cocktail glass for served-up drinks, the coupe is the answer. Skip the V-shaped martini glass unless you specifically want the mid-century-modern look.