When it comes to considering reaping the benefits alcohol provides, most people immediately think of wine. Sure, wine has long been the preferred option for keeping one's health and well-being in top form, however there's another alternative that's just as tasty, healthy, and popular for that matter – gin.

As a distilled drink, it's produced in a process of fermentation and distillation of a base, followed by redistillation of the base for flavour with various gin botanicals. The unique taste of gin is what makes it such a popular spirit time and time again. Besides being tasty, great news is it's low in calories so you won't have to worry about your waistline. On top of that, it's also very refreshing and great on the digestion, skin and blood circulation.

Now, same as with any drink, if you want to truly treat your palate to something extraordinary when drinking this kind of beverage, you'd have to have the appropriate glassware. If you don't know where to begin with since there are so many options available, here are some of the classics to give you an idea.

The Copa Glass

copa gin glass
source: gustocollection.hk

One of the most popular drinks all over the world has got to be gin and tonic. And yet, despite this popularity, it's not that often that it comes served in the most appropriate large sized copa glass. Also known as copa de balon, Spanish for balloon glass, it was first used in the 1700s in Northern Spain where the drink became an instant trend in that period.

Available in sizes between 600-800ml, it's perfect for adding a great deal of ice which is certainly a welcome drink addition in the hot summer days. Besides the layers of ice you'd be able to fill it up with, it offers you enough room for gin, garnishes as well as tonic for the classic drink, or even an upgrade to the gin and tonic. This is enough to explain why it's much better than other glassware alternatives, in the likes of the rocks and large burgundy.

Moreover, the incredible gin balloon glasses are much like wine glasses, yet curved in, a shape that allows them to trap the aromas in so when you take a sip, you also get a good aromatic element too – this is especially helpful if your drink is particularly floral. And, considering you get to hold the stem instead of the glass itself, you won't get to melt the ice that soon.

The Martini Glass

martini gin glass
source: simplyrecipes.com

Now this one is yet another one of the iconic gin glasses that are most associated with the gin based cocktails. Again, same as the copa de balon, it's preferred because of the triangular instead of half circular shape, and the stem in particular as it allows one to hold it without affecting the ice.

Even though it can fit less drink, about 350-400ml, the reason it's also suitable for spirit drinks has to do with the wider mouth it has. As a lowball glass, it gives drinks great oxygen exposure. Simply put, it pulls out the aromas and offers you a unique tasting experience.

The Rocks Glass

pink gin in rocks glass
source: whiskyadvocate.com

As you might guess, it got the name because of the drinks being served on the rocks (i.e. ice). As a lowball glass that's often called old fashioned too, it's just the short version of the highball glass. Since it doesn't provide you with much room like the copa glass does, it's best used with simpler and short drinks that don't have too many ingredients.

The Coupe Glass

gin served in coupe glasses
source: craftginclub.co.uk

As a rounder version of the martini glass, this is the type of gin glass that brings about vintage charm with it. It appeared in the 17th century, and was rumoured to have been based on the shape of the left breast of Marie Antoinette much like the famous variant, the margarita glass, which turned out to be just a myth. Throughout that period, it was synonymous with champagne.

However, taking its shape into account, it's not surprising it grew out of popularity with champagne as it isn't exactly suitable with carbonated cocktails since it fizzes out the bubbles rather quickly. Taking this into consideration, it's understandable why now it's most often used for craft spirits and various cocktails. An added benefit to the shape is that it makes spillage somewhat difficult.

The Highball Glass

gin highball glasses
source: craftginclub.co.uk

As part of the tumbler glassware category, it's taller than the lowball, yet shorter and wider than the collins glass. Thanks to the tall and narrow shape, this type of glasses is perfect for carbonated drinks as it doesn't let the bubbles fizz out quickly, making it ideal if you like to drink your gin cocktails with soda. As it's tall, it's also great for adding your share of ice in the drinks, and besides keeping them cool longer, it's just as ideal for decoration if you're into that besides the typical straws and fruit slices.

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