Margarita Glass
A margarita glass is a stemmed glass with a wide, stepped bowl, about 25 to 30cl by our guidance, shaped to carry a long salted rim. It suits frozen Margaritas and fruit Margaritas served over ice: our Spicy, Passion Fruit and Strawberry Margaritas use one. Our classic Margarita goes in a chilled coupe instead.
About the Margarita Glass
The Shape Carries a Salt Rim
Most of the shape serves the salt. The bowl flares wide to give a long rim, the step in the profile gives you somewhere to hold the glass without touching that rim, and the stem holds your hand away from the cold bowl.
What the shape gains in rim it loses in steadiness. A wide, shallow bowl on a stem is top-heavy, and the large surface lets a cold drink warm fast.
Our Margaritas Use Three Glasses
The classic Margarita, with its 50ml of tequila, is shaken, double strained and served up in a chilled coupe; on the rocks, it goes into a rocks glass with half the rim salted. Tommy's Margarita goes in a rocks glass.
The margarita glass takes the fruit and frozen versions. The Spicy Margarita and the Passion Fruit Margarita are shaken and strained over fresh ice in it, and the Strawberry Margarita is blended with crushed ice and poured in thick.
Margarita glass, coupe and rocks glass for a Margarita
Margarita glass
- Serve
- Frozen, or over fresh ice
- Steadiness
- Top-heavy on a stem
- Our recipes
- Spicy, Passion Fruit and Strawberry Margaritas
Coupe
- Serve
- Served up, without ice
- Steadiness
- Steadier curved bowl
- Our recipes
- Margarita
Rocks glass
- Serve
- Over fresh ice
- Steadiness
- Steadiest, on a heavy base
- Our recipes
- Tommy's Margarita; Margarita on the rocks
| Glass | Serve | Steadiness | Our recipes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margarita glass | Frozen, or over fresh ice | Top-heavy on a stem | Spicy, Passion Fruit and Strawberry Margaritas |
| Coupe | Served up, without ice | Steadier curved bowl | Margarita |
| Rocks glass | Over fresh ice | Steadiest, on a heavy base | Tommy's Margarita; Margarita on the rocks |
Smaller Suits a Shaken Drink
Restaurant margarita glasses often run to 40cl or more, sized for frozen machine serves. A shaken Margarita of about 105ml in a bowl that size sits shallow across a wide surface and warms quickly.
Around 25 to 30cl is enough, by our guidance. It takes a proper drink and a few cubes, with a clean margin under the rim.
Salting It Properly
Wet the outer edge with a lime wedge and roll it through flaky salt with the glass tilted. The inside stays dry; that is the whole technique.
Salt on the inner wall falls into the drink and dissolves, so the Margarita gets saltier as it sits. That is a salty drink, not a salted rim, and it is the usual fault at home.
Salt half the rim, and the unsalted side is there for anyone who wants it. A little salt softens bitterness; salt on every mouthful flattens the tequila.
Whether to Own One
If frozen and fruit Margaritas are a regular thing, yes. Otherwise a coupe and a rocks glass cover every Margarita we publish.
If you buy them, buy them small, buy them heavy at the foot, and wash them by hand, since the step is a stress point and dishwasher racks find it.
Using the Margarita Glass
Usage
Frozen and fruit Margaritas, and Margaritas served over ice with a half-salted rim. Around 25 to 30cl holds a blended drink, or a shaken one over fresh cubes.
Pro Tip
Salt the outside edge only. Run lime round the outer rim, roll it in salt and wipe the inside clean, so the drinker decides how much salt each sip carries.
Professional Tips
- Salt only half the outer rim.
- Keep salt off the inside wall, or it falls into the drink.
- Chill it first; the wide bowl warms a drink quickly.
- Hold it by the stem or the step, never the rim.
Alternatives
Budget Alternative
A coupe, or a rocks glass for a Margarita on the rocks. Our classic Margarita recipe gives both.
Premium Option
Hand-blown glass with a thicker foot. It stands steadier and looks the part; the drink is unchanged.
Specifications
Material
Glass
Capacity
25 to 30cl by our guidance; restaurant glasses run larger
Details
Stem under a wide, stepped bowl with a broad rim
More to explore
Common Questions
Do you have to salt a margarita glass?
How do you rim a margarita glass properly?
What size is a margarita glass?
Can you serve a Margarita in a coupe?
Which Margaritas go in a margarita glass?
Salt or sugar on the rim?
Can a margarita glass go in the dishwasher?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- VinePair, “The history of the frozen margarita machine” (secondary source: Mariano Martinez, 1971, a new restaurant in Dallas, a modified soft-serve machine; the machine acquired by the Smithsonian in 2005).
Made with the Margarita Glass
Used In These Cocktails
Related Equipment
Guide by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026