Nick & Nora (glass) facts for kids

An etched Nick & Nora cocktail glass

A Nick & Nora glass is a special type of glass with a stem. It has a bowl that looks like it's upside down. People mostly use it to serve cocktails that don't have ice in them. This glass is a bit like a cocktail glass or a martini glass, but it has its own unique shape.

This glass became very popular starting in the late 1980s. A famous bartender named Dale DeGroff had some made for the Rainbow Room restaurant in New York City. He found the design in a catalog from the 1930s, where it was called "Little Martini." DeGroff wanted a small, elegant glass because the large, cone-shaped martini glasses were very common back then. Later, Audrey Saunders, who learned from DeGroff, helped spread the use of this glass to many other bars. Today, you can find the Nick & Nora glass in many stores and fancy bars all over the United States.

Design of the Nick & Nora Glass

The Nick & Nora glass has a long stem and a bowl with high sides. It has a narrow opening at the top and can hold about 5 fluid ounces (about 150 ml). Many people think it's a more elegant choice than the big, wide-mouthed martini glasses that were popular in the 1980s.

The design of this glass is very practical. Its tighter bowl and straighter sides are better at keeping the smells of the drink inside. This also makes the glass less likely to spill. Plus, drinks tend to stay colder for a longer time in a Nick & Nora glass. It also looks a bit like a coupe glass, but it's smaller and has taller sides.

The Story Behind the Glass

The bartender Dale DeGroff named this glass after Nick and Nora Charles. They are fictional detectives from old movies. In 1987, DeGroff was hired to manage the bar at the Rainbow Room restaurant in New York City. He wanted to bring back classic drinks from before the Prohibition time. These older drinks were usually served in small, delicate glasses, not the big ones popular in the 1980s.

DeGroff asked a company called Minners Designs to make a cocktail glass. He wanted it to look like the glasses seen in Thin Man films, where Nick and Nora often drank martinis. The company sent him their 1930s catalog. There, DeGroff found a glass called the "Little Martini." He then had new molds created to start making this glass again.

The Nick & Nora glass was first used at the Rainbow Room in 1987. DeGroff started ordering the new glasses using the name "Nick & Nora." However, Minners Designs kept the original "Little Martini" name for a while. After some years, Minners sold many of its products, including this glass, to Steelite International. This company then officially renamed the glass to "Nick & Nora."

Audrey Saunders, who was taught by DeGroff, helped make the glass popular in other bars. It became a very important part of the glassware at her own bar, the Pegu Club in New York City. Saunders used the glass to serve classic drinks, trying to show people that smaller, well-made drinks can be better than very large ones. Other bars, like Please Don't Tell and Death & Co., both in the East Village in Manhattan, also started using the glass.

Today, many companies make the Nick & Nora glass. Famous brands like Riedel and Crate & Barrel sell them. You can even find different versions, some with designs etched into the glass, or with silver or gold rims. There are also versions made from acrylic, which is a type of plastic.

How the Glass is Used

Wine Enthusiast magazine suggests using the Nick & Nora glass for drinks like the Old Pal and Bijou cocktails. Tasting Table says that this glass is perfect for any drink served without ice. It can also be used for drinks like aperitifs (drinks served before a meal), liqueurs, vermouths, wine, and other beverages.