Skip to content

Best Coupe and Martini Glasses 2026

6 min read Kitchen

The V shaped martini glass is an icon and a bad design. It spills at the slightest tilt, the wide surface warms the drink quickly, and the long stem makes it top heavy on a tray.

Quick picks

Prices change often, so check the current price before buying.

The coupe, the rounded shallow bowl, does the same job with less drama, which is why most cocktail bars moved to it. Here is when each is right and how many to buy.

What is in this guide

Quick verdict

  • The one to buy: Coupe Cocktail Glasses, set of 4
  • If you want stemless: Libbey Stemless Martini Glasses, set of 12
  • For a party outdoors: Plastic Martini Glasses, 40 pack

Coupe against martini glass

Coupe Martini (V shaped)
Spills Rarely Constantly
Suits Almost anything served up Martinis and little else
Champagne Yes No
Stacking and storage Reasonable Awkward, wide rim
Looks Vintage Iconic
Used in bars Mostly this Rarely now

The row that decides it for most homes is the first. A drink carried from kitchen to sofa in a V shaped glass arrives partly on the floor.

The picks

Coupe Cocktail Glasses, set of 4

Best overall

  • Shape: Coupe, rounded bowl
  • Capacity: Around 8 oz
  • Suits: Martinis, manhattans, daiquiris, sidecars, champagne

A coupe is the flexible glass. Anything served up, meaning chilled and without ice, belongs in one, and that covers most of the classic cocktail canon.

The rounded bowl is the practical advantage. Liquid sloshes up the curve and settles rather than running straight over a straight edge, so a coupe survives being carried across a room in a way a V shaped glass does not.

Around 8 oz is the right size. Large coupes look generous and encourage pours that warm up before you finish them, because a cocktail served up has no ice to keep it cold.

Pros

  • Handles nearly every drink served up
  • Far less prone to spilling
  • Also works for champagne

Cons

  • Wide bowl still warms a drink faster than a narrow one

Check Coupe Cocktail Glasses, set of 4 price on Amazon

Libbey Stemless Martini Glasses, set of 12

Practical

  • Type: Stemless martini
  • Set: 12
  • Advantage: Fits a dishwasher and a normal cupboard

Stemless glasses solve the two real problems with stemmed ones: they do not topple and they fit in a dishwasher and on a normal shelf.

What you lose is the point of the stem, which is keeping your hand off the bowl. A drink served up has no ice, so hand warmth reaches it quickly. For a party where drinks are finished fast, that hardly matters.

Pros

  • Very hard to knock over
  • Fits standard cupboards and dishwashers
  • Twelve covers a party

Cons

  • Your hand warms the drink
  • Less elegant than a stem

Check Libbey Stemless Martini Glasses, set of 12 price on Amazon

Plastic Martini Glasses, 40 pack

Disposable

  • Material: Plastic
  • Quantity: 40
  • Use: Gardens, poolside, large numbers

Glass near a pool or on a lawn is a genuinely bad idea, and this is the one case where disposable wins on merit rather than convenience.

They look like what they are. For anything indoors, real glass is worth the washing up.

Pros

  • No broken glass outdoors
  • Enough for a large gathering

Cons

  • Obviously plastic
  • Wasteful for small numbers

Check Plastic Martini Glasses, 40 pack price on Amazon

KANARS Old Fashioned Whiskey Glasses

The other half

  • Type: Rocks glass
  • Suits: Old fashioneds, negronis, spirits on ice

Coupes handle drinks served up; rocks glasses handle everything served over ice. Between those two shapes a home bar is essentially complete.

A full breakdown of the spirit glasses is in the whiskey glass guide guide.

Pros

  • Covers the half of the canon a coupe cannot
  • Sturdy enough to build drinks in

Cons

  • Wrong shape for anything served up

Check KANARS Old Fashioned Whiskey Glasses price on Amazon

KITESSENSU 24oz Cocktail Shaker

You need this too

  • Type: Cobbler shaker
  • Capacity: 24 oz

Everything a coupe is for has to be shaken or stirred first, and chilled properly before it goes in the glass.

The cocktail shaker guide guide covers the choice between shaker types.

Pros

  • Nothing served up can be made without one

Cons

  • One more thing on the counter

Check KITESSENSU 24oz Cocktail Shaker price on Amazon

Chilling, and why it matters more than the glass

A cocktail served up arrives at the glass at its coldest and has nothing keeping it there. From that moment it only warms, and the glass decides how fast.

Chilling the glass buys several minutes. Two methods work: ten minutes in the freezer, or fill it with ice and cold water while you mix the drink and tip it out just before pouring. The second is faster and takes no planning, which is why bars do it that way.

This is also the argument for a smaller glass. A generous pour in a large coupe means the last third is drunk warm, and warm gin tastes considerably less pleasant than cold gin. Serving less, colder, is the better drink.

Washing and storage

Wash thin stemmed glasses by hand, holding the bowl rather than twisting the stem, which is how most of them break. Store them upright: resting on the rim chips it, and the rim is the part your mouth touches. Hanging racks look good and expose the inside of the bowl to kitchen grease, so they suit bars that use glasses daily more than homes that use them monthly.

FAQ

Are coupe glasses better than martini glasses?

For nearly everything, yes. They spill less, suit more drinks and work for champagne. The V shape is more iconic and less practical.

Can you drink champagne from a coupe?

Yes, and historically that was the champagne glass. It loses bubbles faster than a flute, which some people prefer because it softens the fizz.

How many cocktail glasses do I need?

Four coupes and four rocks glasses covers a household and guests. Buying twelve of one shape is the usual mistake.

Should cocktail glasses be chilled?

Yes, for anything served up. Ten minutes in the freezer, or fill with ice and water while you mix, then tip it out. A warm glass ruins a cold drink within a minute.

Are stemless glasses acceptable?

Practically, yes. The stem exists to keep your hand off the bowl, which matters most for drinks you sip slowly.

Which should you buy?

Final verdict

Buy coupes. They hold anything served without ice, they spill far less, and they suit drinks a martini glass looks wrong with. Keep a pair of martini glasses if you love the shape.