Imbibe
Bubbly or beer, using right glass is essential

By Sean Nakamura

Patrons are always amazed at the multitude of glassware restaurant bars carry. Of course, there is an abundance in each type, but even more staggering is the sheer number of glass styles with which a good bar is equipped.

The often-heard question from customers at Alan Wong's is "What is that glass used for?" as they watch me quickly wash glasses for another round of cocktails. "Why so many types of glasses if all you do is drink from them?"

For some types of glasses, it's a matter of form. The look of the particular glass creates an attitude that cannot be accomplished by anything else.

The martini glass is a perfect example: The clean, sophisticated lines create a chic disposition that gives panache to an otherwise plain cocktail. James Bond ("shaken, not stirred") would never be caught sipping his martini from a tumbler. Other glasses in the bar can give the contents of a drink an equally whimsical feel.

Hurricane and lampshade glasses, with their buxom female curves, give an exotic and festive feel to the brightly colored fruit drinks that usually fill them.

Beers and ales have their own special glasses.

Lagers and pilsners are traditionally served in the tall conical pilsner glass that carries the same name as this popular type of beer. The tall, thin glass shows off the beer's pale golden hues and full head of foam.

Ales, porters and stouts are traditionally served in straight-sided pint glasses, beer mugs or steins, which can accentuate the deep color, strength and masculinity of the brew.

While form may appeal to the eye, it is often the function of the glass that determines its use. At its most basic, the type or size of glass depends on the appropriate serving size of a single drink.

Every cocktail has an ideal proportion of liquor to mixer. It is the job of good glassware to keep these proportions correct, so as not to water or "burn" any drink, while at the same time being served full to the rim.

For serious wine connoisseurs, the glass a wine is served in is sometimes just as important as the wine itself.

A stemmed glass (so as not to heat wine with the hand), with a large bowl (for ease of swirling to aerate wine), concave shape (to focus the bouquet of the wine), and thin rim (for better tasting) are just a few of the features a wine geek takes into consideration.

The individual attributes of different wines may even dictate the use of different glasses to accentuate aroma nuances, dissipate alcohol, showcase color or calm tannins. Add to that balance, strength, and clarity, and you can understand the price (sometimes as much as $100 a stem) that premium wine glasses command.

But it is not only the wine glass that weighs function over form. The champagne flute, though beautifully elegant, is the favorite glass of sparkling wine drinkers not because of looks but because the tall shape conserves and concentrates bubbles and allows drinkers to watch as thin strands of bubbles float effortlessly through the length of the glass.

If not for the functionality of the flute, a glass of bubbly would be bubbleless in a matter of minutes.

Temperature can sometime play an important part in the enjoyment of some spirits.

The snifter, long associated with cognac sipping, is also the perfect glass for drinking brandy or whiskey straight because the large, cupped bowl with a short stem fits perfectly in the hand allowing the contents to be gently warmed and bouquet-enhanced.

In contrast, those traditional German-style thick beer mugs can better hold the chill of refrigeration, making for a long-lasting frosty beer.

Guests often wonder why drinks taste so much better when they are out dining than when made at home. Granted, you're generally among friends when you're out, and everything is a bit better when someone else makes it, but the equipment a bar carries, in this case the ideal glassware, makes it that much easier. Keep that in mind at your next home party.

For a cool autumn cocktail at your next holiday party, try combining the ideas of two bar favorites, the Cosmopolitan and the Apple Martini. This Cran-Apple Martini should have everyone dancing on tables.

Cran-Apple Martini

• 2 ounces vodka
• 1/2 ounce Captain Morgan Spiced Rum
• 1/2 ounce Apple Liqueur
• 1 ounce Cranberry Juice

Shake all ingredients in bar cup and strain into martini glass.

Sean Nakamura tends bar at Alan Wong's Restaurant.