5 Glassware Options to Spice Up Cocktail Hour

A few new additions to your drinkware collection make happy hour all the more fun.

Beaucoup Bakery’s Jackie Kai Ellis shares her secrets on how to reinvigorate cocktail hour with a few new additions to your drinkware.

Play with Shapes

You don’t have to use the same old cocktail glass silhouette all the time. Straying away from the classics will not only reenergize your glassware collection, it also helps the versatility of your glasses, just like this cylinder flute from CB2. For Ellis, variety in shapes isn’t limited to function, it’s also for fun. “Updated and reinvented glassware shapes can be found everywhere now.”

Get Outside the Box

Cocktails don’t always have to come in cocktail or martini glasses. These Saga mugs from Anthropologie work just as well for a highball as they do for tea time. In Ellis’ words, “The easiest way to undo ordinary is to consider using glasses that were never intended for cocktails.” Unconventional cocktail glasses fit tremendously well with spirited afternoon drinks, like this wine-infused kombucha cocktail recipe. (Yep, that’s Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc in the mix there—so crazy, it works).

Mismatching patterns can work, too

Not everything has to match. Take this old-fashioned glass with a modern metallic twist from  CB2— it’s an individual piece that can add character to a collection. “Mixing and matching different styles creates interest and personality,” says Ellis.

Simplify

Simplicity is never a bad option. Sometimes, Ellis takes from the Italians and enjoys her reds or whites from a simple glass tumbler, like this gem-toned stemless glass from Pottery Barn.

Indulge in Luxe

There’s no shame in having a special luxury set reserved for cocktail hour. “Splurging on one perfect crystal cocktail glass just for your nightcap is luxurious and one of life’s little pleasures,” says Ellis. This champagne coupe from Atkinson’s embodies why coupes have taken over the classic martini glass in liquor lore.