Few glasses are more recognizable than martini glasses. You know the one, that “V” shaped glass perched firmly atop a slender stem. The “V” shaped cocktail glass has become known as a “Martini” glass to pay homage to the drink which so often calls it home. Many people even mistakenly refer to any drink served in this iconic cocktail glass as being a Martini, without realizing that a Martini is a specific cocktail, and not a drink category.

The popular conical martini glass, though the form had seen happenstance use for other purposes previously, was introduced for its current purpose in Paris at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Industrial Arts) which was the debut of the Art Deco movement. Its use was initially in Europe during American Prohibition, only being really embraced in the States after World War II.

What had cocktails in general, and Martinis specifically, been served in before that time? Then, as now, glassware options were extremely varied, with each manufacturer and even each line from a specific manufacturer, providing different flourishes, and design concepts. Bars would often carry a wide variety of glasses, and would choose different ones based on the drink they were serving, or sometimes the customer they were serving it to.

Martini glasses have a triangular shaped bowl with a long stem, and are used for a wide range of straight-up (without ice) cocktails, including martinis, manhattans, metropolitans, and gimlets. The shape of the glass helps keep ingredients from separating, and the stem allows the drink to stay cool while holding.