SHOP $200, sohohome.com
Welcome to The Esquire Endorsement. Heavily researched. Thoroughly vetted. These picks are the best way to spend your hard-earned cash.
The glass matters. Never did I feel more strongly about this than when I realized how much I hated all my old highball options. The first batch I owned, years ago, was too tall and narrow, making mixing up a balanced cocktail that would actually stay balanced impossible. The top was all club soda, the bottom all booze. (Equally hard: Drinking out of the glass sans straw.) The second, which I received for my wedding, was far too big, in both circumference and volume. Fill those with liquor and I’d be on the floor; attempt a more moderate approach and your drink looks ludicrously undersized. (They have since found a second life as water glasses.) But I’ve finally arrived at my just-right option, the Barwell Cut Crystal highball glass set from Soho Home. Perfectly sized, remarkably attractive, and delightfully weighty, these glasses hit all the right marks. There’s no looking back for my home bar.
SHOP $200, sohohome.com
Living in New York, I’ve been to Soho House, a members-only social club with multiple locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, plenty of times. I knew I loved the glassware. That it felt good to drink out of while I was there. But even as other friends ordered their own sets for their own bar carts, I held off on purchasing due to the price tag. Four glasses for $200 deserves a little pause. Right? Actually, wrong. That was a mistake. Not only have I wasted more on other options I hate at this point, but these glasses instantly upgrade whatever you’ve chosen to pour into them (also, your night on the couch). When something looks beautiful—as every liquid does behind this etched glass—it tastes better. Amazing how that works. Certainly science agrees with me!
Now, while beer is more my husband’s gig than mine, I would be remiss not to mention that these get used as frequently for something hoppy as they do the stronger stuff in our home. They’re just the right size for knocking back a brew. And the heft—noticeable but not over the top—adds just the right amount of weight to the end of your day.
SHOP $200, sohohome.com
As my final note: You’ll only see the Barwell Cut Crystal highballs here in these photographs, you should know I’ve also welcomed the rocks glasses into my home. I love them just as much. They make me feel important. Fancy, even! So while there’s absolutely no getting around the fact that this is investment barware, I can’t fathom how you’d regret it once the sticker shock wears off. In fact, you should also know, I’m already buying more. Wine glasses, decanters—I can’t be stopped. Cheers!
Photography by Philip Friedman. Prop styling by John Olson for Halley Resources.
Madison Vain is the Digital Director at Esquire; a writer and editor living in New York, she previously worked at Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated.
