Why This Is the Only Glass That Belongs on Your Bar Cart

A confluence of craft cocktail culture and the show Mad Men made me, like so many others, realize that my apartment wasn’t complete without a bar cart. After much hunting, my roommate and I found this Target one, which managed to have the ’50s vibe at a broke millennial’s price tag. Once we filled it up with wine, booze, and the requisite ice bucket, however, there wasn’t room to crowd in glasses as well.

That’s how we accidentally stumbled upon a one-size-fits-most solution to our bar cart: rocks glasses. Designed for spirit-heavy cocktails (read: Old Fashioneds), they are more than capable of doing double duty when it comes to non-alcoholic drinks, as well.

Looking to similarly streamline your home bar experience? A vintage-chic set from Libbey that would look perfect on any bar cart is currently on sale on Amazon.

Classic lowball drinks aside, rocks glasses are also one of my favorite ways to serve wine. It’s not fancy stemware, but when we’re drinking wine at home, it’s with takeout pizza or weeknight pasta. These glasses make the whole thing feel both relaxed and elegant at the same time, like I’m a French woman who just always has a glass of wine with my meal because pourquoi pas?

More effervescent, bubbly drinks like gin and tonics or whiskey gingers (both in heavy rotation at our house) are also perfectly passable in a rocks glass — especially in a set like this one, which can hold up to 12 ounces. And when we want to have an after-dinner drink, like a nip of Scotch or rye, the glasses come out again then, too. They are even great as the slightly less fun (but more all-ages) juice glass. Really, the only thing we can’t use them for is sparkling wine and Martini-style drinks. For both of those drinks, we rely on coupe glasses that stayed stored in a cabinet for special occasions.

Another reason I love rocks glasses like these from Libbey? They stack easily, meaning they can also take up less precious real estate if need be, whether that’s in a bar cart or in kitchen cabinets. And while they’re made from sturdy glass, if they do break, you’ve got 12 of them. Worst comes to worst, Libbey has also been making the same classic rocks glasses for 50 years, meaning you’ll likely be able to buy a new set to mingle with your old ones for years to come.