The bar is one of the best places to find glass collectibles, whether at home or in public. There are different shapes of glasses for different type of wines: port, red wine, sherry, white wine, champagne, cordial or liqueur, hock, and the brandy snifter. The wine may be in a decanter, and there are decanter and glass sets intended to be used together.

An old style decanter without (or missing) a stopper.

There are specific shapes for specific mixed drinks: martini, margarita, gibson, hurricane, collins, and Irish coffee. Some types of barware are based on the size of the drink: old fashioned and double old fashioned, highball, shot, tumbler, and goblet. The test tube is a recent trend in barware. And there are specific shapes or sets for specific spirits, like vodka, saki and grappa. Special hand painted martini glasses are available as some gift shops.

Martini glasses with hand-painted stems.

As well as the intended drink or size, most of the glass types come in stemmed, not stemmed, engraved, etched, cut, plain and in some cases double-walled for insulation purposes. The color of the glass or stem may vary from clear to nearly any color, or may be opaque.

These glasses have clear stems and feet, and the cups vary in color.

Thin-walled glasses for beer include the pint glass, and the pilsner with or without a stem. The mug or stein is usually heavily walled and has a handle on the side. The boot is shaped like a boot and comes in several sizes. And the ever-elegant mason jar is considered a bar glass by some.

Beer glasses.

To catch condensation, there are coasters, which can be made of glass. There are glass cocktail shakers, pitchers and seltzer bottles. The home bar may have a glass ice bucket. Some drinks require muddlers or swizzle sticks, which can be made of glass. Bar tidbits may be served with glass picks to convey them to the mouth.

And, last and biggest, the punch bowl and cups.  Once part of every pubs inventory, it is now relegated to genteel parties and dances. If someone you love makes frowny-face noises about your current collecting item, tell them you are inspired to start a new collection of glass punch bowls. You should hear less complaint about your current interest.

Modern barware is mass produced in beautiful clear glass.

In each case, the glassware may be mass-produced, made by hand in foreign lands, made by hand by glass artists or decorated after the fact by  artists using a number of techniques.

Champagne flutes.

If you decide to collect barware, not only will you have to concentrate of shape, size, color, decoration, source, and intent, you will have to decide if one glass of a set of six is sufficient, or if you need to have all six. And there may be a carrier or tray to match for sets from the 50s and 60s. For glasses currently in production, six will be  easy to acquire, but if you decide to go after antique glass collectibles or out-of-production glassware, you may have to assemble a set of six one glass at a time.  Sounds like fun.

Some barware has colored bowls, and cutting these adds elegance.

The array of glass collectibles tied to the home or public bar creates a number of possibilities for a place to start, and plenty of room for growth in time.

* * * You can buy new personalized Wine Goblets for your own home bar, to serve wine while your guests admire your collection. * * *

The images on this post are from Stock Xchnge.

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