Hurricane glasses

The sizes lie close together. The models from Royal Leerdam and Arcoroc hold 44 cl, the Schott Zwiesel Bar Special 53 cl. You notice that difference mainly with drinks that use a lot of crushed ice: 44 cl takes a standard recipe with ice, while 53 cl lets you garnish more generously with pineapple, mint and a straw without it spilling over.

Then choose between a model with a short foot and one on a stem. On a stem it looks more elegant and keeps your hand off the bowl, which matters with an ice-cold drink. A short foot stands more steadily on a full tray and in a crate.

Fill the glass three quarters full with crushed ice before you pour, not with cubes. Crushed ice chills faster and holds the garnish upright. Build the drink in the glass and stir with a long spoon from the bottom upwards, so the colours stay in layers.

The hurricane itself is rum with passion fruit and lemon, and the piña colada is the best-known other resident of this glass. For the rum mix with orange and almond, look at the mai tai, a recipe that comes out exactly right in this size of glass with ice and garnish.

The tempered glass from Arcoroc and Royal Leerdam is made for bar work and handles the switch between hot rinsing water and crushed ice without trouble. The models from Schott Zwiesel are made of toughened crystal glass with a reinforced rim, which prevents chips during rinsing.

The narrow section above the belly is hard to clean with an ordinary brush. Sugar residue from syrup and fruit stays behind there and starts to smell over time. So always rinse the glass out straight after use.

If you serve tropical drinks more often, the tiki glasses with their mugs and masks follow on directly. For straight, tall cocktails with ice cubes, the long drink glasses are the usual choice. The tools that go with it, from shaker to strainer, are with the cocktail shakers and the long bar spoons, which let you stir through a glass full of crushed ice without breaking the layers.