Elevate your drinks with a festive glass that is shaped like a queen’s breast and other interesting items to shake, stir, pour, and serve.
‘Tis the season to be jolly.
If you’re having people over for drinks, be it a small soiree or a large gathering, set a festive tone by stealing some of these wow-factor ways to serve your tipples.
Swanky cabinet
British bespoke designer Rupert Bevan started out as a gilder and furniture restorer, and has evolved his business into a company that works on a mainly commission basis with five-star hotels and restaurants to produce bespoke interiors rich in diverse styles, materials, and finishes.
Its burr oak Atlas drinks cocktail cabinet, featuring patinated brass trim, mirror glass back pane, and a black glass countertop, serves up plenty of wow factor.
It will take 10 to 12 weeks to deliver and costs from about €24,230, ex delivery.
Cocktails on wheels
For a touch of jazz age elegance, plump for the Charleston bar cart, €598, from Meadows & Byrne.
Its gold finish has a leather handle, a glass top, and a marble-effect lower shelf with sides to steady its contents. It has smooth-rolling wheels and is a very practical way to serve your guests.
You can bring the bar to them.
Fizzing with style
The party season is all about raising a glass of bubbles to being with friends and family, and to absent friends.
Whether you like champagne, crémant, prosecco, cava, or sparkling wine, these 22 cl classic crystalline Storsint flutes, €12 for a set of six from Ikea, have the kind of clear brilliance such an occasion requires.
Plus, they elicit a fine tone when you clink glasses. We’ll drink to that.
Cool serveware
The elegant Ultima Thule pitcher, €170, was designed to commemorate Finnish sculptor and industrial designer Tapio Wirkkala’s 100th birthday.
It’s a design that still epitomises Finnish design house Iittala and is inspired by the so-called ice glass technique. Almost 60 years later, it is as covetable as it was then.
Serve drinks in matching 28 cl low-ball glasses, from €65 for a pair, all from Iitala’s online shop. Prices are ex delivery.
Practical and novel
These festive stemless wine glasses will make the ideal gift to give a loved one who is prone towards the clumsy.
The remaining Joly Icon designs shown are the Christmas tree and the on-trend bow. Each costs €15, ex shipping from Anthropologie.
Ice-breaking tales
Lost for words during party season small talk? Did you know that the champagne saucer or coupe in French is reported to have been inspired by the left breast of Marie Antoinette?
Now there’s a new British standard.
The English Coupe Collection, in collaboration with artists Lydia Reeves and Phoebe Stubbs, featured hand-blown glass coupes cast from the forms of real women. Available to commission, prices start from about €1,144 from UK winemaker Drink Folc.
Shaken and served
Cocktails should be shaken over ice. Keep it handy in this double-wall construction, hammered copper Eddington ice bucket with tongs, €65, from Arnotts.
The matching cocktail shaker is sold out, but an art deco style featuring a ribbed glass container costs €49.95 from Stelton, ex delivery.
Designed by Francis Cayouette, it will help keep the drink chilled.
Finishing touches
Grow your own cocktail garden with this unique herb gift box, a thoughtful present for gardeners and barflies alike.
It includes seedling signs, starter pots, a cocktail recipe, and three easy-to-grow aromatic seed varieties: Cinnamon Basil, Lemon Balm, and Borage. It costs €30 from Cork-based Erva Gardening.
