Chef & Sommelier Lima

The 35 cl tumbler is the smallest and suits drinks with one large ice block or a few cubes. The 38 cl gives a little more room and is nicer if you work with crushed ice. Among the tall glasses, the 40 cl is the standard size for a long drink on ice, while the 45 cl is meant for more generous pours or for drinks with plenty of fruit in them. If you work with fixed measures behind the bar, it helps to keep two of each on hand. To compare more widely, have a look at the tumblers and the highball glasses.

Build long drinks in the glass rather than in the shaker. Fill with ice to just over halfway first, then pour the spirit, and only add the fizzy part last so you don't stir the life out of it. A moscow mule works this way, and so does a long island iced tea, where the cola goes in as the finishing touch. In the short glass you do it the other way round: the ice block first, then the strained drink over the top.

The rim is reinforced, and that is where bar glasses almost always go. Kwarx also holds on to its clarity where ordinary catering glass turns dull over time. Wash on a short glassware programme; citrus acid and syrup leave residues that are better rinsed off straight away than left to dry on. Don't stack the glasses tightly inside one another.

If you are after a tall glass made specifically for gin and tonic, with a wider bowl, you will find those among the gin and tonic glasses. To see the rest of the Chef & Sommelier range, from wine bowls to spirit glasses, visit the brand page. And if you are still short of tools, the cocktail shakers are ready and waiting, along with the strainers and bar spoons that go with them.