You don’t have to be a professional bartender or have an exhaustive bar to make incredible drinks at home. You really only need a few things to make craft cocktail quality drinks for your friends. A great start is the classic, common rocks glass, also known as a lowball glass.
You may not realize, but you’ve seen it dozens of times before. It’s the number one bar staple and you need a set at home.
The rocks glass details
The rocks glass is a stout, stemless tumbler best known for its use in the old fashioned, a well-known whiskey drink tracing its origin back to the beginning of the 18th century.
The rocks glass has a wide brim and a sturdy base and typically holds between 6-10 fluid ounces of liquid. A double old-fashioned glass can hold 12-16 ounces. A rocks glass is best used for drinks built in the glass (as in without a shaker). Of course, that includes the old-fashioned, but other popular drinks are the negroni, the mint julep, the sazerac, and dozens more.
The rocks glass is a bar staple
Perhaps the greatest feature of the rocks glass is its versatility. Almost any drink feels complete and upscale in a quality rocks glass, from whiskey neat to a simple mixed drink, even a rum and coke.
Regardless of your favorite drink’s typical cup, the old fashioned glass will feel appropriate and timeless when you can’t complete your bar setup.
The rocks glass is the quintessential bar glass. Find a set of four you love for your home bar and any guests will be in the mood for cozy conversation over a cocktail. These glasses set the tone for nostalgia, great memories, and great company.
The rocks glass is a great gift
Because of their versatility, both in use and aesthetic, the rocks glass makes a perfect gift. No matter the occasion, the gender, the price, a beautiful and unique set of four rocks glasses will prove a thoughtful and appreciated gift. Weddings, birthdays, graduations, this glass shows you value the receiver’s time and conversation and you feel they deserve nice things.
The rocks glass can be personalized and diverse in every way, catering to your unique taste, while holding its classic shape.
It can be simple and it can also carry an antique feel with glass blown detail or a clear, heavy bottom. You can etch a monogram, a significant date, or your favorite quote into the clean, glass sidewalls. The rocks glass is an open canvas.
The perfect drink for your rocks glass: The Old Fashioned
A classic glass deserves a classic drink. And there's no drink more timeless than the delicious old fashioned. This drink is as old as the craft of cocktails.
It is one of the first drinks to become well-known before bartending grew into the advanced skill it is today. Louisville often claims the early recipe and has named the old fashioned the city’s official drink, honoring the classic cocktail every year during the first two weeks of June with festivals and competitions.
The recipe has shifted over time and place, and even taste, usually holding its main three ingredients of bitters, sugar, and water. But like the rocks glass itself, an old fashioned is entirely customizable. But every bartender has their favorite recipe.
The Old Fashioned classic recipe
The classic recipe for an old fashioned calls for a lump or cube of sugar, bitters, whiskey, and a lemon peel. Some older recipes incorporated orange curacao, absinthe, and even other liquors altogether. The beauty of the old fashioned is that it simply can’t be put into a box.
Making the Old Fashioned:
Ingredients: Grab simple syrup, bitters, bar cherries, ice, bourbon, and your tools!
Directions:
- A great place to start for your old fashioned is to pour 1 ounce of simple syrup into your rocks glass.
- Next, add two or three dashes of bitters. If you’re unfamiliar with bitters, a great brand to start with is Peychaud’s. They’re the bartender’s go-to.
- Add a few bar cherries.
- Muddle these ingredients together about four or five times. If you don’t have a muddler at home, any blunt object about the size of a quarter can suffice in the meantime.
- Now, add a scoop of ice, filling to just beneath the rim of your rocks glass.
- Pour in 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon. The ice will settle a bit, giving you room to stir.
- Put your bar spoon between the inside wall of the glass and your ice and spin all the ice around about four times, keeping the spoon to the glass’s edge.
- Garnish with a bar cherry or a twist of orange!
If you don’t love this version of the old fashioned, it’s a great place to start your journey of customizing your perfect drink.
Swap the simple syrup for a sugar cube. Use more bitters, no bitters, or find your happy place somewhere in between. Try using rye instead of bourbon. It’s your drink. And at the end of the day, you’ll feel relaxed and cozy with your beautiful glass and your perfect cocktail.
Get your rocks glass
You got the recipe, but now you need the glass. Or maybe you need a gift they're sure to love. Either way, the Elemental Rocks Tumbler is the perfect solution.
Plus, we've improved the classic glass with our TRUEBARRIER Technology, shatter-proof Tritan lid, and an anti-slip grip bottom.
Get your rocks tumbler here.
