Have you been dreaming of opening your own bar but you&#;re not quite sure where to start? You&#;ve probably thought about your concept and your name, but maybe you&#;re unsure about some of the finer details, like how to obtain funding and permits. Running a successful bar can be lucrative and rewarding, as long as you perform some careful research and follow the correct steps. We outline the process of starting your own bar, from the initial concept to your grand opening, so you can fulfill your dream of becoming a bar owner.
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How to Open a Bar
Opening a bar requires some initial research and planning. You can make sure that you're covering all the bases by following our bar opening checklist below.
Click on any of the steps to read the section that most interests you:
Choose a Bar Concept and Brand
Choose a Name for Your Bar
Choose a Business Entity for Your Bar
Write a Bar Business Plan
Secure Funding for Your Bar
Find the Perfect Location
Obtain Permits and Licenses
Find a Liquor Supplier
Design a Bar Layout
Buy Your Equipment and Supplies
Hire the Right Staff
Advertise Your Bar
Host Your Soft Opening
1. Choose a Bar Concept and Brand
The fun part of starting your own bar is creating your concept and brand. Your concept includes all the general ideas you have about what kind of bar you want to open. Your brand is slightly more defined and encompasses the identity and mission of your business. Every detail of your bar should support your brand, from your service style to your decor and ambiance. A good question to ask yourself is how do you want people to feel when they walk in your bar?
Here are some examples of bar concepts to get you thinking about your own bar:
An unpretentious neighborhood bar with comfortable booths and a jukebox of classic hits, where folks can unwind after work.
A barcade with vintage pinball games that serves only a few types of beer, where guests can let loose and have fun on a Friday night.
A moody martini bar with neon lights and hypnotic music, where guests can feel like they&#;re part of an exclusive club.
A sophisticated wine bar with modern furniture and art on the walls, where guests can sip flights of wine paired with appetizers.
The most important thing to note is that your concept and brand should be in line with the demographics of your chosen location. When you get to the step of performing market research, you may have to adjust your brand to meet the needs of the neighborhood you are serving.
2. Choose a Name for Your Bar
Choosing the name for your bar can feel like the moment that your dream is becoming a reality, but how do you choose the right name? Make sure that it&#;s catchy, make sure it reflects your brand, and make sure it&#;s unique. Remember that your name will be used on all of your marketing materials and merchandise, including menus, staff uniforms, and advertisements. Stay away from names that are too long and complicated.
After you&#;ve chosen a name that represents your bar perfectly, it&#;s time to consider trademarking it. This protects your name from being used by any other businesses, which can be helpful if your location is in a high-density area. It&#;s especially important if you plan to expand your business to multiple locations in the future.
3. Choose a Business Entity for Your Bar
Every business owner has to decide what type of entity or business structure to establish. This impacts your legal liability, your ownership rights, how your business is taxed, and your funding options. These are the common entity types for small business owners:
Sole Proprietorship - This is the most common type of structure for small businesses and requires no paperwork to set up. Once you start a business that operates for profit, you are automatically running as a sole proprietorship. The downside of this entity is that as the bar owner, you are liable for any lawsuits against your business.
Partnership - A verbal agreement between two or more taxpayers is all that&#;s needed to start a partnership, which makes it very appealing. However, you are liable for the mistakes of your partner so it&#;s recommended that you go ahead and create a partnership agreement anyway. Always have a lawyer review your partnership agreement before signing.
Limited Liability Company - Also known as an LLC, this type of business entity is very popular due to its liability protection. Because an LLC exists as its own separate legal entity, the business owner isn&#;t liable for any lawsuits against the business. The downside of an LLC is that it does require the proper forms and a fee to be filed with the Secretary of State&#;s office.
4. Write a Bar Business Plan
This is the point where you need to sit down and get your business plan on paper. Having a thorough business plan is going to help you when you reach out to investors and apply for loans. It&#;s also a great way to work through any areas of uncertainty you may have about how your business is going to operate. A bar business plan should include the following:
Executive Summary
Company Overview and Description
Market Analysis
Business Offerings
Management
Marketing and Public Relations Strategies
Financial Projection
5. Secure Funding for Your Bar
After doing your financial projection you&#;ll have a better idea of the funding you&#;re going to need to make your dream happen. Make a list of all the startup costs required to get your bar running. Then add in the cost of daily operations, including the cost of alcohol, salaries, utilities, and rent. From there you can create a budget and forecast how much money you&#;ll need to keep your bar running for the next year.
Next, determine how much money you have to put towards your startup costs and how much additional funding you&#;ll need. Now that you have a definitive number, you can begin the process of applying for loans. The initial investment that you make could be paid back within a few years if you run your bar successfully.
6. Find the Perfect Location
Performing a location analysis is the best way to find the perfect location for your bar. There are many factors to consider, but these are some of the most important:
Target Demographics - You should either begin by targeting a location with demographics that match up with your concept, or base your entire concept off of the demographics of a predetermined location.
Health Regulations and Zoning - Zoning regulations can vary greatly between cities and counties. Make sure to become familiar with your location's zoning laws so you know what to expect.
Visibility and Access - It&#;s extremely important to choose a location that is visible to people driving or walking by. Accessible parking is always optimal.
Nearby Competition - If an area is already saturated with bars, you may want to either choose a different location, or make sure your bar has a unique concept that stands out.
7. Obtain Permits and Licenses
Making sure you have the appropriate licenses may be the most tedious step along the way, but it&#;s vital to getting your bar open for business. It never hurts to enlist the help of legal counsel to make sure you have all the bases covered. The number of permits you&#;ll need and the total cost of fees will vary by state. These are some of the most important licenses required:
Employee Identification Number - You&#;ll need an Employer Identification Number, or EIN, to apply for many of the permits below. This number identifies you as an employer and allows you to officially hire your staff. To obtain your EIN, visit the IRS website and fill out their online application.
Liquor License - Without a liquor license, you can&#;t legally sell alcohol. Not only does the license permit you to sell alcoholic beverages, it also determines what type of alcohol you can sell and the times and days you can operate. The process for obtaining one can be lengthy, so you should start on this one right away by contacting your state&#;s Alcoholic Beverage Control agency. Or, consider starting a zero-proof bar, and you can skip this step.
Foodservice License - If you plan on serving food at your bar, you&#;ll need a foodservice license. This ensures that your business meets food safety laws and regulations. To obtain a foodservice license, apply online at your state government&#;s website.
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau - Referred to as the TTB, this federal agency regulates businesses that sell alcohol. Before you open for business you&#;ll need to register with the TTB, which can be done on their website. The TTB also requires that you keep a record book containing the date and quantity of all alcohol received from your suppliers. This step is very important because if you get inspected by a federal officer and fail to produce the log book, you could be fined up to $10,000.
Here are a few examples of other permits you may need to open your bar:
Sign Permit
Music Permit
Certificate of Occupancy
Pool Table Permit
Dumpster Placement Permit
8. Find a Liquor Supplier
With most of the paperwork out of the way, it&#;s time to make a wish list of the spirits, beer, or wine that you want to stock in your bar. You might already have a selection in mind or you could do some research to see what&#;s popular in the area. The concept of your bar might weigh heavily in this decision, especially if you&#;re going to specialize in one type of alcohol, like craft beer or small-batch wines and spirits.
You&#;ll want to find an alcohol distributor that offers the brand and products you have on your wish list. Many wholesalers have websites with portfolios that showcase all their products and pricing. Here are some things to keep in mind when you choose a distributor:
Brand selection
Minimum purchase requirements
Payment terms and discounts
Delivery dates
Availability of brand ambassadors or promotional materials
Once you stock your bar with alcohol, you should begin to take liquor inventory so that you can maintain the appropriate quantities. Taking consistent liquor inventory will give you an idea of how your bar is performing, what your par levels should be, and which products are selling.
9. Design a Bar Layout
If you&#;re designing your bar from scratch, the best thing to do is take measurements of the entire space. You can draft the layout on paper or take advantage of design software to come up with a virtual blueprint. Having the blueprint is going to help you choose fixtures, equipment, stools, and seating that will fit inside your space.
Keep in mind that the space should remain functional. Your staff should be able to move freely around any tables or booths. The area behind your bar should have enough space for liquor displays, speed rails, and bottle coolers. You should also allow enough room for the maximum number of bartenders on your busiest shifts.
When it comes to choosing your decor, make sure it supports your brand and concept. Artwork, lighting fixtures, and furniture can all be used to create an experience for your guests. Check out current design trends to come up with ideas.
10. Buy Your Equipment and Supplies
You&#;ll need to outfit your bar with some basic equipment in order to serve drinks. It&#;s important to factor in the space and electrical requirements you&#;ll need for these items:
Bottle Coolers - These back bar coolers provide space for all the bottles and cans that you&#;ll need to keep chilled. Ideally, the bottle cooler will sit under your bar so that bartenders can access it quickly.
Ice Machines - It&#;s going to take a lot of ice to keep the beverages flowing at your bar. You&#;ll need a reliable ice machine to produce large volumes of ice throughout the shift.
Ice Bins - Once your ice machine makes the ice, you&#;ll need to store it in a place that&#;s convenient for your bartenders. Under bar ice bins fit beneath the bar so your staff can easily access ice for cocktails and blended drinks.
Glass Washer - Having a glass washer under the bar is extremely convenient. Some models are designed to fit inside an underbar sink and require no electricity.
Bar Blender - You&#;ll need a reliable, commercial-grade bar blender for making popular blended drinks like daiquiris and margaritas. Look for a model with a cover to reduce noise while blending.
Beer Dispensers - Your bar isn&#;t complete without a beer dispenser. These units feature a refrigerated cabinet that holds your beer kegs, while the beer is dispensed through a tap tower on top of the dispenser.
In addition to your bar equipment, you'll also need to stock up on other bar essentials. Make sure you have the appropriate glassware to serve your beverages. Depending on your menu, you might need garnishes, drink ingredients, and cocktail mixes. For your bar top, you'll need cocktail napkins, coasters, and stirrers.
11. Hire the Right Staff
Different types of bars may have different staffing needs. For instance, a large nightclub will require some additional employees that a small neighborhood bar won&#;t need, like bottle service staff or a house DJ. If you own a wine bar, you might want a sommelier on staff. Here are some of the key positions that you&#;ll need to get most bars up and running:
Bar Manager
Bartenders
Barbacks
Servers
Host / Hostess
Security / ID Checker
Many potential employees are enthusiastic to start a new venture and get in on the ground floor of a new bar. With such a high turnover rate, the best way you can keep your stellar bartending staff is by defining your workplace culture from the very beginning. In addition to interviewing and hiring new employees, make sure that you create a thoughtful training program that outlines clear expectations.
A critical part of bar ownership is ensuring that your staff is well-trained to look for signs of visible intoxication. Your training program should emphasize these signs and provide guidance on how to deal with intoxicated patrons. It's your responsibility to make sure that your guests are safe at all times, while they enjoy drinks at your bar and when they leave your bar.
12. Advertise Your Bar
You&#;ve done your due diligence and now you&#;re ready to let the community know about your new bar. This is where the critical step of advertising and marketing your bar comes into play. Here are some tips you can use to inform your potential customers about your business and build excitement about your opening day:
Create a website &#; Building a website for your bar is essential. Many customers will be researching your business online before making a visit, so you should provide key information on your site. Your site should also be representative of your brand.
Use social media &#; Another way to reach potential customers is by creating accounts on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can share high-quality photos of your signature cocktails and advertise promotions.
Make a Yelp account &#; Create a business profile on Yelp so that you have more online visibility and customers can submit reviews for your bar. You can personally ask your guests to leave reviews by putting a request on your bar receipts.
Sign up for Google My Business &#; Google My Business is a free service that ensures your bar information will show up in Google searches and on Google Maps. Make sure to provide as much information as possible, including your website, hours, photos, and price ranges.
Use your store front &#; As you&#;re doing construction on your new bar, passersby will be naturally curious about your new business. Make sure to utilize posters and sidewalk signs to provide information about your bar and the opening date.
Place an ad in the local paper &#; Purchase advertising space in the local newspaper to share information about your new bar. You could even include a coupon for half-off drinks.
Create a loyalty program &#; Sign up for a mobile app loyalty program and reward your guests for their continued business. If you specialize in craft beers, provide a way for guests to track and rank the beers they&#;ve enjoyed at your bar.
Promote a Happy Hour &#; Happy hours are a great way to attract customers through value-priced drink specials. You can also offer complimentary samples and free snacks.
Host an event &#; There are a variety of events you could host in your bar to create some buzz. If you own a wine bar, consider hosting a wine tasting. If you own a tap house, trivia nights can be very successful at bringing in more customers. Don&#;t forget the most important event of all, your grand opening!
13. Host Your Soft Opening
A soft opening is a practice run that allows your bar staff to test out their operation on a limited number of guests before the actual grand opening. The benefit of a soft opening is that it gives you an idea of what you are doing right and what areas of your service may need more attention. Your staff gets the opportunity to practice without the pressure that comes with a busy opening day. An easy way to host a soft opening is to invite the friends and family of your employees for a sneak peek event.
Now that you&#;ve become familiar with all the steps necessary to opening a bar, you can begin to make your dream a reality. By planning every aspect of your bar operation ahead of time, you can start your business off on the right foot.
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Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers
So you&#;re trying to set up a nice home bar (long gone are the days of drinking wine out of mugs), but the process is feeling a bit overwhelming. Is there any difference between a highball and a collins glass? Are those V-shaped martini glasses actually a reasonable thing to own? What size coupe do you need? The good news is that buying cocktail glasses doesn&#;t have to be all that complicated &#; or expensive. According to Matt Piacentini, owner of the Up & Up, a cocktail bar in the West Village, his team uses just five different types of cocktail glasses to make most of the drinks on its menu. Joaquín Simó, partner at Pouring Ribbons and Tales of the Cocktail&#;s American Bartender of the Year in , makes it even simpler. &#;You can make 90 percent of drinks in a rocks, a collins, and a good all-purpose cocktail glass.&#;
Regardless of what you make in them, the right cocktail glasses for you are a matter of taste. The first rule of thumb, says David Fudge, co-founder of nonalcoholic-spirit brand Aplós, is picking something you would actually enjoy drinking out of, because &#;it&#;s all about elevating the whole experience. For me, when you&#;re drinking out of an antique crystal glass, there&#;s something about the drink that&#;s more special, and it does taste better.&#;
To help you find your own perfect matches, we took a deep dive into cocktail glassware, speaking with more than a dozen professional bartenders and boozehounds about their go-to pieces of cocktail glassware.
The most-recommended cocktail glass was the coupe glass, especially for someone who likes to get creative with the drinks they make at home. In most modern cocktail bars, the coupe has dethroned the V-shaped martini glass as the go-to. It holds about six ounces, which means you&#;re drinking what Piacentini calls a &#;civilized&#; amount of booze. (Though if you want your glassware to be more forgiving of spills, go for a coupe that&#;s seven or eight ounces so the drink won&#;t come right up to the top edge.) Kimberly Hunter, CEO and founder of Potent Pours, appreciates the wider rim because that &#;means lots of garnish. It&#;s versatile, too &#; I can sip Champagne without fear of losing my bubbles.&#;
Coupe glasses are good for cocktails served &#;up,&#; meaning they&#;ve been shaken or stirred with ice and then served chilled, without ice &#; like a martini &#; or even &#;frozé,&#; as Supergay Spirits co-founder Aaron Thorp suggests. The stem means you don&#;t heat up the cocktail with your hand as you sip it. And though you can spend hundreds of dollars on a set of coupe glasses, this probably isn&#;t where you want to be spending the bulk of your glassware budget. &#;A superexpensive coupe glass is just going to be really thin and delicate,&#; says Piacentini, meaning it&#;s more likely to break.
Libbey Embassy 5.5 oz Champagne Glass
$131
for 36
$131
for 36
While these are called champagne glasses (and you can certainly use them for that), Landes thinks they&#;re the ultimate vessel for learning how to make proper cocktails served up at home. &#;If you&#;re trying to hone in on your skills, size is important,&#; he says. &#;It&#;s an indicator that you&#;ve portioned out the right amount of everything.&#; Right now, they only seem to be available in big sets &#; but if you go in with friends, it&#;s a great investment.
$131
for 36
at Webstaurant Store
Buy
CB2 Float Coupe Cocktail Glass
$9
$9
Evie Negri-Albert, best known on TikTok and Instagram as Drinks by Evie, prefers something a little more upscale to the traditional coupe glass. These have a delicate but slightly dramatic shape, so if you&#;re looking for something Instagram friendly (or to impress guests), these might be the best choice for you.
$9
at CB2
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Sir/Madam Rialto Glass Coupe in Crème
$68
$68
If you do, however, want to splurge, consider these showstoppers. Jessica Manley, the other co-founder of Aplós, is of the mind-set that you should be excited by the glassware you use, and she&#;s drawn to the spunky, colored glasses Sir/Madam creates. These have a nice vintage vibe to them, and in unique colors like &#;moon glow,&#; &#;menthe,&#; and &#;salmon,&#; they double as kitchen décor. And not only are they made of a sturdy glass, but they&#;re even dishwasher safe.
$68
at 2Modern
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$75
at Sir/Madam
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A single rocks glass is &#;going to be for anything neat, any spirit on the rocks,&#; explains Piacentini, though you could also use it for stirred, chilled, spirituous cocktails served &#;down,&#; meaning they&#;re served chilled but in a glass without a stem. One such example is a Negroni, points out John Sergentakis &#; the regional sales manager for Nolet&#;s Gin &#; made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. Piacentini also prefers these rocks glasses to snifters for brandy, since you&#;re able to more easily smell the aromas.
The ideal single rocks glass is &#;somewhere between eight and ten ounces,&#; says Simó. &#;That&#;s enough where you could put a decent-size chunk of ice in there if you like making the fancy ice.&#; And if you&#;re going to splash out on one part of your glassware setup, make it the rocks glasses. &#;Those are the glasses where you&#;re most likely to have the drink that&#;ll take you the longest to drink,&#; says Piacentini. &#;You don&#;t sit back in a comfy leather chair with an up drink and sit there for 45 minutes with it, but you will if it&#;s something nice and stirred on a big piece of ice. It&#;ll last for that long.&#; So it&#;s worthwhile to splurge on a heavy-bottomed rocks glass that feels balanced and good in your hand.
Ikea Frasera Glass
$4
$4
Even though our experts think that rocks glasses are completely worth spending your money on, it never hurts to explore a budget option. &#;I&#;m not afraid to say that Ikea does it right,&#; says Barriere. &#;They&#;re consistent, and you&#;re not so angry when you break one &#; you just go get some more, and it&#;s fine. I love that.&#; This is a ten-ounce glass, so it&#;s on the larger side for single rocks glasses. And the ridges make it look a bit more special than just a regular glass. &#;People will say, &#;Oh, I really like that glass,&#;&#; and I&#;ll say, &#;Ikea,&#; and they&#;ll be very impressed,&#; Barriere adds.
$4
at Ikea
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Nude Glass Big Top Set
$68
$68
Negri-Albert agrees that rocks glasses are &#;extremely important for some of the most classic cocktails,&#; and if she&#;s going to spend the money on new glasses, she heads to Nude Glass. She&#;s particularly fond of this ridged option, but if you&#;d like something a little more plain (and less expensive), the brand has lovely options for that, too.
$68
at Kathy Kuo Home
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A double rocks glass, also sometimes called a double old-fashioned, should only be about two ounces bigger than a single rocks glass, not twice the size. Jake Ireland, CEO and founder of bourbon brand Off Hours, keeps this style of glass on his own bar, noting it works for &#;any way you take your bourbon &#; neat, on the rocks, or in a cocktail.&#; Because of the larger size, it&#;s a touch more versatile than the single rocks glass, since it can fit more. &#;We would do a julep in those &#; crushed ice all the way. Just when you need a little more room, or you&#;ve got a drink like an old-fashioned or a Manhattan on the rocks,&#; says Piacentini. You could also put margaritas in these glasses instead of getting a dedicated margarita glass. That&#;s why, if you&#;re only going to get one type of rocks glass, the double rocks glass is generally more versatile.
CB2 Watson Double Old-Fashioned Glasses
$24
for 8
$24
for 8
Ireland calls this CB2 set &#;affordable and modern yet classic at the same time.&#; The glasses come in a set of eight, so you&#;ll have plenty for post-pandemic dinner parties. And even though they are on the inexpensive side, Ireland promises they&#;re still high quality.
$24
for 8
at CB2
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CB2 Hendricks Double Old-Fashioned Glass
$10
$10
Hunter says she&#;s &#;literally drooling over just about all&#; of the glasses at CB2, but she&#;s particularly drawn to this one, because the wide mouth of this glass gives &#;room for garnishing the top of the glass.&#; If you&#;re feeling fancy, she adds, &#;you can also garnish the outside of the glass for an elevated cocktail look.&#;
[Editor&#;s note: This glass is currently sold out, but we&#;re keeping an eye out and will update this story when the glass comes back in stock.]
$10
at CB2
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Andrew O. Hughes Handblown Double Old-Fashioned Clear Glass
$50
$50
Want more information on cocktail glassware wholesale? Feel free to contact us.
At $50 a pop, these are a bit of a splurge, but Ireland promises they will &#;last a lifetime.&#; He notes that they&#;re handblown by Andrew Hughes himself in Brooklyn, so each one is custom.
$50
at Goop
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There is technically a difference between a highball and a collins glass: &#;A highball is a tall, skinny glass. A collins is just a taller glass,&#; Piacentini says. Collins glasses are usually a couple ounces larger than a highball, but only due to the additional height. But there&#;s really no need to get into the weeds on this one &#; Negri-Albert says the terms are interchangeable in the drink world, so you don&#;t really need to get both for your home.
These tall, chimney-shaped glasses are good for gin-and-tonics, vodka-sodas, and whiskey and gingers but can be repurposed for tiki drinks made with crushed ice. They&#;re also &#;super-acceptable for nonalcoholic drinks,&#; adds Negri-Albert. As far as size is concerned, bigger isn&#;t necessarily better. &#;You don&#;t want a 16-ounce collins glass, because you&#;re going to be hammered after your second Tom Collins,&#; says Simó. &#;Get about a 12-ounce highball or a collins glass, and you&#;ll be fine.&#; If you&#;re still unsure, go for the highball. &#;As a bartender, I would say 90 percent of my drinks were poured in a highball glass,&#; estimates Sergentakis.
Kimura Glass Compact Tumbler
$21
$21
&#;My favorite highballs are from Kimura,&#; says Thorp about this Tokyo-based brand that also comes recommended by Fudge. &#;While they&#;re expensive, they&#;re stunning to use because they feel weightless in your hand.&#; The company has been making glasses for over 100 years, and it actually supplies glass for different bars and restaurants around the world, so if you&#;re looking for true bar-quality glasses, these are probably a good choice. The brand also offers hundreds of other glass types &#; from coupe to wine glasses &#; so you can shop for more than just highball-style pieces.
$21
at Kimura Glass
Buy
Nude Glass Savage Set of 4 Highball Glasses
$58
$58
If you like the style of the Kimura Glass options &#; but not the price &#; this Nude Glass set recommended by Negri-Albert is quite similar. It&#;s not as thin or delicate, but it is&#; less than half the price.
$58
at Nude Glass
Buy
CB2 Cirque Cooler
$11
$11
Like most CB2 options, these glasses are affordable and easy to replace while still being nice-looking. While they have a heavy base, the walls are still thin, so they feel a bit higher quality.
$11
at CB2
Buy
$11
at Havenly
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Ferm Living Ripple Long Drink Glasses
$45
&#;The ripple glass was the glass of ,&#; says Landes (though that doesn&#;t mean they don&#;t look just as good in ). It seemed like everyone was buying (and companies were knocking off) this style. They look sophisticated, but with a bit of intrigue from the textured sides and different-size bases.
$45
at Nordstrom
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Nick and Nora glasses are starting to become as common in craft-cocktail bars as coupes. &#;Nick and Noras are more bell shaped, in between a coupe glass and a very small wine glass,&#; says Piacentini. &#;In a perfect world, I love Nick and Nora glasses for stirred-up drinks and coupe glasses for shaken-up drinks,&#; because the smaller Nick and Nora glasses fit three to four ounces of liquid perfectly. Though if you are looking to keep your glassware to a minimum, there&#;s nothing you would serve in a Nick and Nora glass that you couldn&#;t also serve in a nice coupe. Nick and Noras are also generally a little bit more specialized and therefore harder to source.
Bormioli Rocco Italian Classic Cocktail Glasses
From
$37
From
$37
We also like this set of four glasses from Food52. You can purchase a &#;full bar&#; set, too, which is 16 glasses and comes with coupe, martini, fizz, and Nick and Nora glasses.
From
$37
at Food52
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Xaquixe Apasco Tumbler M
$55
for 2
$55
for 2
Shelley Kleyn Armistead, a partner at Gjelina Group who is in charge of the interior design and tableware, recommended the tumbler size of these glasses for a roundup we did on the best drinking glasses &#; but the group actually uses the medium ones for margaritas at its restaurants. If you want something versatile that can be used both for bar and kitchen, these sustainably made beauties are a great pick. They&#;re currently available for preorder.
$55
for 2
at GOODEE
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&#;It&#;s a little up to personal taste,&#; says Piacentini, who doesn&#;t like the &#;traditional shot glass that&#;s stubby and wide and has the line around it.&#; Sergentakis likes any style as long as it&#;s glass. What both Piacentini and Sergentakis agree on is that a shot glass should never be filled all the way to the top, and it should be big enough so that you don&#;t spill. &#;If you get an ounce shot glass, it gets messy,&#; notes Sergentakis. &#;Ounce-and-a-half shot glass, and I&#;d recommend you pour an ounce in it so you&#;ve got a little room to cheers.&#;
Mamo Single 7:2 Multipurpose Glass
$28
$28
These glasses were mentioned in a holiday-party piece we published last month by event planner Lilli Sherman, and they&#;re so gorgeous, they&#;re definitely worth a spot on this list. Each one actually doubles as a cocktail glass (the bigger size) and a shot glass (the smaller size), so it&#;s a two-for-one deal wrapped up in a display-worth drinking vessel. Sherman likes to use hers for sipping amaro and other digestifs, too.
$28
at Mamo
Buy
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