Setting Up Your Own Retro Bar Part 2

Retro Bar Glassware Ideas

You've set the stage with your bar; now it's time to start looking for the right scenery and props.

To be truly "in your cups" as the saying goes, you need the right cups to begin with. Bar glassware provides more than a container for a drink; it's part of the overall cocktail experience. As a good host, it's up to you to decide what kind of experience you want to provide your guests.

Glassware Basics

You may be surprised to learn that there are certain glasses that are supposed to be used for certain drinks. You may wonder if this is really necessary. Yes, it is.

Glass styles are used for a reason: they help deliver the drink properly, so the flavors can be savored. Martinis are meant to be sipped slowly, and the Martini glass is constructed for that type of delivery.

Vintage Martini Glasses

The experience of drinking brandy is better when its vapors are inhaled a bit, and a brandy snifter helps concentrate these vapors.

Vintage Brandy Snifters

Champagne bubbles should rise like mad and tickle the nose while you're drinking, and the shape of the champagne flute helps turn on the bubble machine.

Vintage Champagne Flutes

And, with mixed drinks as well as cocktails, glassware is also about presentation. Here are the basic types of glasses you'll want to have in your bar. Styles may vary depending upon the individual design, but the basic shapes are the same:

Retro Glassware

Glassware in a retro bar doesn't have to be vintage, just stylish. But if you want to buy genuine vintage glassware, large regional antique shows are the supermarkets of retro: they're the best places to find the widest selection of styles and price ranges. You may also find collections for sale at auction and at specialized antique stores.

However, you'll want to keep an important reality check in mind: glass breaks. The question is not if you'll break a glass, but when. So remember that your wonderful matching vintage glassware might be difficult, if not impossible, to replace. If you want a collection of matching glassware that can be replaced easily, then you may want to consider buying new. Many classic styles are available. For ideas, see Philip Collins' book, "The Art of the Cocktail," which features a beautiful selection of vintage glassware, as well as state of the art cocktail presentation.

Elegance through Eclecticism

Eclectic glassware collections are a wonderful idea. You never know where you're going to find that next great glass, vintage or otherwise. Collections can be grouped by different attributes, such as shape, texture or color. The glasses you pick and how you display them reflect your individual style. And if you break a glass, so what? It's not part of a set, so it's easily replaceable.

A few suggestions for eclectic bar collections:

• Angular glasses: minimalist, Italian, cubist, streamline or deco styles
• A textural combination of etched and frosted glasses
• Strong colors, such as cobalt, red or green
• Pastels: barely tinted glasses in a rainbow of colors
• Novelty glasses, the weirder the better

Retro Glassware

Unique singular glasses can be hunted down at art glass galleries and artist studios, as well as in thrift and antique shops. Be sure to look for glasses when you travel; you'll associate special memories with every sip.

Retro Souvenir Glasses

Kitsch

Novelty glasses were rampant from the 40s through the 60s and are still fairly easy to find, though prices are going up. This "Drunk Martini" glass was one of a set of four found at an antique collective for $25.

Retro Novelty Glasses

Glass cocktail shakers with cocktail recipes printed on them make great (and durable) large drink glasses; these usually range between $2 and $10 when you find them at thrift or antiques stores. These printed glass shakers also look terrific displayed as a collection.

Retro Cocktail Recipe Glasses

Ceramic novelty glasses, such as tropical tiki or coconut souvenirs are fun and easy to find at thrift stores, though they may not be very old.

Retro Tiki and Coconut Glasses