Glass size determines how much you pour

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Dec 24th 2005 @ 10:35AM

Looking to keep your holiday guests from draining your liquor cabinet and getting too tanked too fast? Make sure to have plenty of tall glasses around. A new study from Cornell University found that college students and even professional bartenders usually poured 20 to 30 percent more into a short, squat glass than into taller glasses. The study was lead by Brian Wansink, professor of marketing, economics and nutritional science. Wansink has headed several other studies involving portion control and consumer perception.

The reasoning behind the findings of this study are pretty simple. People pay attention to the vertical level of liquid in a glass, and tall, narrow glasses just appear to fill up faster. Wansink suggests using smaller, narrower glasses or glasses with levels drawn or etched onto them to give pourers a better idea of how much they're serving up.