There's a stigma attached to those who extol the virtues of proper glassware. But the fact is -- they're right. The vessel used for your drink will affect not only the liquid that's poured inside, but also the way it hits your tongue, and the flavor your taste buds register.

I used to blow this off as overly fastidious, fancy schmancy posturing. I hated getting pints of beer or glasses of soda because it always tasted flat to me. I preferred that crisp bite out of the bottle -- glass be damned!

But then I experienced the differences for myself. While visiting a winery a number of years ago, my friends and I sat in on a glassware class. A myriad of shapes and sizes were placed in front of us, and we tried white, red, and sparkling wine in the different glasses. Each tasted different as it was moved from the standard white glass, to the wider red, to the narrow flute. We were shocked, and we vowed to always try to have the right glass for the right wine, because what's the point of paying more for a good wine, if you can't experience its full flavor?

But it's not just a matter of wine. Recently, I was making dinner and decided to open a bottle of craft beer that I had loved at my favorite pub a few months prior. I popped off the cap, took a drink, and curled my lip -- it not only tasted nothing like I remembered, but I hated it. I thought back and remembered that I drank the beer at the end of the night. Did I have bad, delusional drunken taste buds? I read the side of the bottle, which suggested a specific stemmed glass. I found something close, poured it in, and it became the beer I remembered -- rich, full, and wonderful. Me, the bottle lover, had found a beverage that tasted much, much better out of the bottle.

Now this doesn't mean that you need to have a specific glass for every different type of beer or booze. Get the right glasses, or something very close, for your favorite beverages, and stick to standards for the rest.

Think about it -- why splurge on a great scotch, wine, beer, or other beverage if you're just going to throw it into any old glass?

Read on to see a rundown of the glasses that make each beverage pop, and consider this not only a great guide for your own collection, but an excellent gift for the liquor, wine, or beer fiend on your gift list.

Red Wine Glass

Luscious red wines need to breathe. We decant them to give them air, and this should continue into the glass itself. The ideal vessel for red wine will be wider than the white variety glass, with an oval/egg shape that has a slightly narrowed top. This will allow the wine to not only breathe, but also preserve aroma when the wine is swirled and aerated. The general rule: The bigger the better.



White Wine Glass

Where reds like to breathe in large glasses, whites are best housed in narrower glasses that taper sharply at the top. Again, the shape helps the concentration of aromas, but it also helps to keep the wine cold by decreasing air circulation, and allows more subtle aromas to be noticed.

Shot Glass

These jiggers give what no other glass can – a quick shot of flavor that slides down the throat in one dose. However, before the seventies, shot glasses were mainly used as jiggers to measure other mixed drinks, rather than vessels for the quick burst of booze. Yet another reason I love the seventies.




Martini/Cocktail Glass

The classic martini glass is the most popular go-to vessel for shaken drinks, even if the cocktail in question isn't actually a martini. The size and shape holds no room for ice (bring in the shaker!), and the stem allows the drinker to get through the cocktail without warming the glass and drink with their hands.




Margarita Glass

One of the more unique shapes in the glass world, margarita glasses have a double bowl with an extra-wide upper rim. The narrow base helps amp the color of the drink, while the wide rim allows for salt and other powdered rimmers to be added to the glass.

Brandy Snifter

The brandy snifter works like a wine glass – gobletted top and stemmed bottom. But this version is a larger, more bulbous, and you only pour a small amount into the base. Unlike other stemmed glassware designed to keep a drink cold, the snifter is designed for the drinker to cup the glass, warm it with their hand, and sniff the aromas with the slightly narrowed rim.






Old-Fashioned/Rocks Glass

The shorter version of the highball, this is called a rocks glass because it's often used in drinks served "on the rocks." It's wide, it holds the ice well, and it's the go-to glass for most bar-served mixed drinks. This glass is often used interchangeably with the highball.





Highball Glass

This is the other popular glass of the liquor realm. It's the mainstay for any drink that teams alcohol with a mix – gin and tonics, rum and cokes, you name it -- especially when the mix is in a large quantity. The tall stature allows adequate room for ice, liquor, and mix. The versatility of this glass makes it the vessel any bar should stock.

Hurricane Glass

You won't find a specific function with these glasses, but the shape is popular for large, blended frozen drinks that you can sip with a straw. You've seen them before -- restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe love to put their brand on them.



Irish Coffee Glass

The Irish Coffee glass is all about looks. It holds warm beverages like any regular mug; however, the glass is clear to showcase the look of a good Irish coffee, Hot Toddy, or other warm, layered beverage that would benefit from seeing the drink from the side as well as the top.



Collins Glass

This tumbler looks much like the highball glass, or a traditional pint glass, but is narrower than both. This shape is mainly for looks, and the history of the Tom Collins drink; therefore, it can be used interchangeably with a highball glass.

Sour Glass

Reminiscent of a curvy champagne flute or wine glass, sour glasses work well with the cold foam of sour drinks. The stem, meanwhile, will help keep the drink cold like other stemmed glassware.





Whisky Glass

The tulip shape of this glass derives from classic Scotch tasting glasses (the look primarily same, but without the slightly wider mouth). Like the wine glasses, this glass tapers towards the top to concentrate aromas for both neat and on-the-rocks servings.




Cordial Glass

The most similar companion to the cordial glass is the shot glass. Unlike other vessels that require a number of ingredients, the cordial glass is made for sipping – particularly small portions of liquor after dinner. With a shot, you down the beverage in one gulp. With the cordial, you make it last, like savoring every bite of a rich dessert.





Absinthe Glass

These glasses, which are never complete without the slotted spoon, have short, thick stems. Also, the embellishments in the glass' body are more than just artistic creation -- they serve as a dose line to signify how much absinthe should be poured in. Glass added thanks to Rainman's reminder!

Beer Mug

When the beer is run-of-the-mill and the hops drinker just wants to consume mass quantities, a tough exterior, and the ability to clink and cheers is what counts. The beer mug – this is the glass to use. It won't make any flavors pop, but it will allow for rowdy consumption.




Pilsner Glass

These are tall and thin glasses -- sometimes stemmed -- but usually flat-bottom with a short hourglass shape and tall torso. Pilsner glasses are great for light beers (like, of course, the pilsner). The hoppy aroma will be highlighted with this glass, as well as carbonation.




Pint Glass

The run of the mill pint glass is just that – a so-so vessel for your beer. It will suit most types, which is why it's so often used, but it will not highlight any. To get the best from this glass, choose a wide-rimmed, 20-oz variety that tapers slightly at the top. This will work well for large heads.

Beer Chalice/Goblet

Often a thicker-walled version of the red wine glass, chalices are stemmed glasses that are made to retain the head of the beer. Unlike the wine glass, however, the chalice does not narrow -- the wider mouth offers bigger, deeper sips.





Beer Flute

Like champagne, these flutes help to hold in the carbonation of the beer, while the narrow glass helps to showcase strong and immediate aromas that make it perfect for any aromatic brew.






Weizen Glass

This glass takes that hourglass shape and gives it a busty top. As with other tall glasses, the length of the Weizen glass will help carbonation, while the wide rim helps the head, and the narrowed rim captures aromas.

Champagne Flute

These narrow glasses are perfect for housing your bubbly wine. The long body allows the carbonation to gently rise and give us that bubbly image we're used to. Meanwhile, the narrow top help keeps your sparkling wine fresh for as long as possible by capturing the carbonation. In a wider glass, the wine would go flat much quicker.




Sherry Glass

This glass will remind you of a regular wine tasting glass -- not particularly curved or tapered. However, the big difference is the rim. It does not taper like the wine glasses, and it can often have a wider rim than base.

Tulip Glass

Like a Scotch glass that employs the tulip shape for aroma, this glass works well for those wow-inducing aromatic beers and strong ales. This is the go-to glass for aroma-heavy Belgians, and on a budget, a brandy snifter is a perfectly reasonable substitute. But I wouldn't cradle the snifter if you're filling it with beer.





Stange

A stange is much like a Tom Collins glass, but holds a bit less – it's tall and thin with very little flair. These glasses work for delicate beers like light ales, and are most often found in Germany.







Large Wine Glasses

And finally... When looking to kill two birds with one stone, large wine glasses can save the day. 22oz wine glasses will work well for most Belgian ales, and give you double-duty on your glassware.