Identifiers: Almost cylindrical with a wide mouth. The 16-ounce US
Tumbler is most common while the 20-ounce Imperial Pint (Nonic)
accommodates more beer or beer with larger heads

Benefits: Inexpensive to make, easy to store and easy to
drink from

Appropriate Beer Styles: British-Style Bitter, Pale Ale, India Pale
Ale, Double/Imperial IPA, Amber/Red Ale, Brown Ale, Altbier,
Porter, Milk Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Marzen/Oktoberfest, Pumpkin
Ale, Rye Beer, Saison, Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, Smoked Beer

Identifiers: Tall, slim and tapered in a way that often resembles
a trumpet

Benefits: Captures the sparkling colors, clarity and carbonation
of pilsners, while retaining the head and enhancing volatiles

Appropriate Beer Styles: Blonde Ale, Hefeweizen, Pilsner,
California Common/Steam Beer, Japanese Rice Lager, Witbier

Identifiers: Typically used for brandy and cognac these glasses
have a wide bowl and tapered mouth, perfect for swirling

Benefits: Captures and enhances aroma and volatiles

Appropriate Beer Styles: Old or Strong Ale, Barleywine,
Double/Imperial IPA, Double/Imperial Stout, Belgian Dark Ale,
Belgian Pale Ale, Quad, Tripel

Identifiers: Stemmed and tulip-shaped so that the top of the
glass pushes out slightly and captures the head of your beer

Benefits: Induces and supports large foamy heads while
enhancing volatiles

Appropriate Beer Styles: Belgian Strong Ale, Double/Imperial
IPA, Belgian IPA, Belgian Pale Ale, Bière de Garde, Flanders
Red Ale, Gueuze, Fruit Lambic, Saison, Scotch Ale

Identifiers: Can be delicate and long stemmed or heavily
sculpted and a short stemmed, with rims sometimes laced in
silver or gold

Benefits: Incredibly sexy and specially designed to maintain
head, with wide mouth for deep sips

Appropriate Beer Styles: Belgian IPA, Belgian Strong Dark Ale,
Berliner Weissbier, Dubbel, Tripel, Quad

Identifiers: Long and lean body with a stem slightly shorter than
a traditional champagne glass (the shorter stem isnt essential)

Benefits: Showcasing the lively carbonation and sparkling color,
it ensures carbonation doesn't dissipate too quickly while
speedily releasing volatiles for a more intense aroma upfront

Appropriate Beer Styles: Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut,
Dortmunder, Flanders Red Ale, Gueuze, Lambic, Schwarzbier,
Vienna Lager

Identifiers: Classy with thin walls and a lot of length to showcase
wheat beers' color and allow for proper headspace

Benefits: Most with a half-liter capacity, they're designed to
handle voluminous head and lock in the aromas associated with
the style

Appropriate Beer Styles: Wheat Ale, Dunkelweizen, Hefeweizen,
Kristalweizen, Weizenbock

Identifiers: A modified version of the tulip glass, its shape
resembles Scotland's national flower (in case you've already
been drinking, we're talking about the thistle) characterized by
a short stem, bulbous bottom and burgeoning top section that's
noticeably more sharp and angular than that of the tulip

Benefits: Captures and enhances volatiles while accommodating
generous, foamy head

Appropriate Beer Styles: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy

Identifiers: A sizable bowl with a wider mouth and more
exposure to air

Benefits: Allows the wine to breathe

Proper Pairings: Red wines with complex aromas like aged
Burgundy, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux and Barolo

Identifiers: Larger than a large white wine glass with a more
narrow body

Benefits: Directs the bouquet to the nose

Proper Pairings: Fruity red wines like a more simple Shiraz or a young Beaujolais

Identifiers: Not quite as big as the small red wine glass, with
a wider bowl

Benefits: Enhances aromatics

Proper Pairings: Oak-aged white wines like Chardonnay as
well as Bordeaux Blanc

Identifiers: Taller and more narrow than a large white
wine glass

Benefits: Shape concentrates the aromas

Proper Pairings: Perfect for aromatic whites like Riesling
and Gewürztraminer

Identifiers: Tall, narrow and associated with champagne

Benefits: The slender design enhances the longevity of
the carbonation in sparkling wines

Proper Pairings: Sparkling wines including any and all
Champagne

Identifiers: Smaller than most wine glasses with a more
rounded bowl

Benefits: The small size and a special angled rim help to direct
the wine to the back of your mouth, which is ideal for such a
sweet beverage

Proper Pairings: Sweet, unforitified wines like Muscat or Icewine

Identifiers: Smaller than wine glasses with a tall, narrow bowl

Benefits: Display the color of the wine and direct the bouquet
to the nose

Proper Pairings: Can be used for any fortified port or dessert wine

Identifiers: Even smaller than a port glass, the sherry glass is
tulip-shaped and tiny

Benefits: Tapered to capture sherry's aged aromas
to the nose

Proper Pairings: Sherry (duh)

Characteristics: Straight sides make it both elegant
and versatile

Used For: A variety of cocktails served on the rocks as well
as mixer combined liquor drinks like gin and tonic

Characteristics: Short and stout

Used For: Cocktails or liquor served "on the rocks" (on ice),
particularly Manhattans and the Old Fashioned

Characteristics: Tall and shapely like an elegant hurricane lamp

Used For: Tropical drinks like daiquiris and the Hurricane

Characteristics: Concentrates the aroma to the top of the
glass as your hands warm the contents

Used For: Brandy and cognac

Characteristics: Sized and shaped with a flared ring to bring out
the finest qualities in your scotch whiskeys, enhancing complex,
multi-layered aromas and giving you plenty of room to swirl

Used For: The name says it all

Characteristics: Sleek and classy with classic V-shaped
bowl atop the stem

Used For: Any cocktail served "straight up" - particularly
Martinis, Manhattans and other such treats

Characteristics: The shape and size enhance the delicate
flavors and aromas of absinthe without overfilling

Used For: Absinthe and absinthe-based cocktails

Characteristics: Large bowl with a broad-rim for holding salt

Used For: Margaritas, fruit drinks and blended daiquiris

Characteristics: Small and stemmed for more modest portions

Used For: After dinner drinks and liqueurs

Characteristics: Similar to a highball glass but slightly taller

Used For: Collins gin drinks, soft drinks, alcoholic juice
and tropical drinks like the Mai Tai