Glassware

Coupe Glass

A coupe is a stemmed glass with a wide, shallow, rounded bowl; Urban Bar’s run from 18cl to 23cl. Its job is the drink served up with no ice in the glass: shaken sours like the Daiquiri, stirred ones like the Bamboo, and cocktails topped with sparkling wine. A coupe of 180 to 200ml takes almost anything served up, egg white sours included.

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An empty coupe glass, its shallow round bowl on a slender stem and a round foot.

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Essential Equipment

Recommended for every home bar

The tool

About the Coupe Glass

Size Decides What Fits

Urban Bar’s coupes are listed at 18cl, 21cl and 23cl. Vintage ones are often smaller.

Shaking and stirring add water, so the drink in the glass is bigger than the measures. A stirred Bamboo of 90ml finishes at about 110ml. A shaken sour of 105ml, such as the Yellow Jacket, comes to about 135ml, and a Hemingway Daiquiri of 130ml to about 165ml.

Leave about a centimetre under the rim so you can carry it. That makes 180 to 200ml the useful size, by our guidance: it takes nearly every drink served up, egg white sours included.

What fits which size of coupe (our guidance from our recipe volumes)

Under 140ml

Takes: Stirred drinks such as the Bamboo or Gin and It
Too small for: Most shaken sours

150 to 170ml

Takes: Stirred drinks, and shaken sours up to about 135ml finished
Too small for: Egg white sours, the Hemingway Daiquiri

180 to 200ml

Takes: Nearly everything served up, egg white sours included
Too small for: Little; the Old Cuban, topped with champagne, wants the full 200ml

Coupe size	Takes	Too small for
Under 140ml	Stirred drinks such as the Bamboo or Gin and It	Most shaken sours
150 to 170ml	Stirred drinks, and shaken sours up to about 135ml finished	Egg white sours, the Hemingway Daiquiri
180 to 200ml	Nearly everything served up, egg white sours included	Little; the Old Cuban, topped with champagne, wants the full 200ml

Why It Replaced the Martini Glass

A V-shaped martini glass is widest at the rim, so the slightest tilt sends the drink over the edge.

A coupe curves in at the top. The surface of the drink sits inside the widest part of the bowl, so a tilt moves it without spilling it, and the drink can be carried across a room. That is the practical case for it, and coupes now do much of the martini glass’s old work in cocktail bars.

The story that the shape was moulded on Marie Antoinette’s breast is false. The coupe is usually dated to the seventeenth century, about a hundred years before she was born.

The Stem Keeps the Drink Cold

With no ice in the glass, the only things keeping a coupe drink cold are the chilled glass and the water from mixing.

A hand around the bowl warms the drink. Hold the coupe by the stem and the cold you put in with 20 to 30 seconds of stirring, or 10 to 12 seconds of hard shaking, stays there longer.

So chill the coupe before the drink is ready: ten minutes in the freezer, or a fill of ice and water emptied at the last moment.

Sparkling Wine Goes Flat Sooner in One

It works, and it goes flat sooner than in a flute, because the wide surface lets the bubbles escape faster.

For a cocktail topped with sparkling wine and drunk while cold, such as the Old Cuban, that trade is fine. For a glass of good champagne on its own, a flute holds the bubbles longer.

Using it

Using the Coupe Glass

Usage

Cocktails served up: shaken sours such as the Daiquiri and Paper Plane, stirred ones like the Bamboo, and cocktails topped with sparkling wine, such as the Old Cuban.

Pro Tip

Chill the coupe as the first step, not the last: freezer, or ice and water, before you pick up a jigger.

Professional Tips

Chill it before you mix.
Fill to about a centimetre under the rim.
Hold the stem, not the bowl.
Buy 180 to 200ml if you shake egg white sours.

Alternatives

Budget Alternative

Old champagne saucers turn up in charity shops. Buy them if a measured 150ml of water fits with room to spare.

Premium Option

A thin-rimmed coupe of about 180ml with the stem pulled from the same piece of glass as the bowl. The money buys a finer rim and no join to fail.

Specifications

Material
Soda-lime glass or crystal
Capacity
18cl to 23cl in Urban Bar’s listings; our guidance is 180 to 200ml for egg white sours
Details
Wide, shallow, rounded bowl with a slight inward curve at the rim; stemmed

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What size is a coupe glass?

Urban Bar’s coupes are listed at 18cl, 21cl and 23cl, and vintage coupes are often smaller. Our guidance is 180 to 200ml for shaken drinks, and egg white ones in particular, because shaking adds water and the drink in the glass ends up larger than the measures you poured.

What is a coupe glass used for?

Anything served up with no ice: shaken sours such as the Daiquiri, Paper Plane and Yellow Jacket, stirred ones like the Bamboo and Gin and It, and cocktails topped with sparkling wine, such as the Old Cuban. The stem keeps your hand off the cold bowl.

Should I buy coupes or martini glasses?

Coupes, for most people. They take the same drinks and spill far less, because the bowl curves in so the drink’s surface sits inside its widest point. A V-shaped martini glass is widest at the rim, which is why it tips so easily.

Can you serve champagne in a coupe?

Yes, though it goes flat sooner than in a flute, because the wide surface lets the bubbles escape. For a cocktail topped with sparkling wine and drunk quickly, that hardly matters. For a good champagne on its own, a flute keeps it livelier.

Was the coupe modelled on Marie Antoinette?

No. The story that the shape was moulded from her breast is a myth. The coupe is usually dated to the seventeenth century, roughly a hundred years before she was born, so the dates alone rule it out.

Why does my drink look half-empty in a coupe?

Because the coupe is larger than the drink. A stirred drink from 90ml of spirit and vermouth comes out at about 110ml and looks lost in a 200ml bowl. That is a reason to choose a smaller coupe, or a Nick & Nora, for stirred drinks, not to pour more.

Can coupes go in the dishwasher?

Many are sold as dishwasher safe, but a long thin stem and a wide shallow bowl are easy to break in a rack. Washing by hand is safer; polish the bowl while it is still warm. Never stack them inside each other.