Tumbler

What is a tumbler?

The tumbler, better known as the old fashioned glass or rocks glass, is the strong one among glasses: short, wide, with a heavy base and made for drinks with plenty of ice and little fuss. It owes its name to the Old Fashioned, the drink built the old-fashioned way with spirit, sugar and bitters, and this glass became exactly its home. Rocks glass is another name for it, because drinks on the rocks belong here, with ice, as you know them from our On the Rocks entry.

The word history of the tumbler comes with its own anecdote: the story goes that the first glasses of this kind could not stand up because of their rounded bottom, they would tumble, and the drink had to be finished in one go. Charming as it is told, but it does not count as proof, the true origin of the word remains in the dark. What stays is the name, and it fits the glass the way the heavy base fits the bar.

Shapes and versions

• The classic: short and wide, with a heavy base, the ice has room and the glass stands like poured concrete
• The double old fashioned: the roomier brother, for drinks with a bit more mixer or simply more ice
• The walls: thick glass holds the cold longer and forgives the occasional clink of ice

Why this glass

• Ice needs room: a big cube or an Old Fashioned with plenty of ice wants width below instead of height above
• The wide opening: the aromas of spirit and bitters reach the nose immediately
• The heavy base: the glass stands safely on the bar and feels honest in the hand
• For neat drinkers: served without ice, a whiskey feels at home here too, more on that in our Neat entry

Distinction: tumbler and highball glass

The tumbler is the short one with the heavy base, the highball glass is the tall slim one. A simple rule: lots of ice and spirit, short glass, ice and fizz, tall glass.

Remember: the tumbler is made for the ice, the highball glass for the bubbles, the coupe for the history, the martini glass for the show.

At our lounge

When an Old Fashioned is served at our place, it comes in this glass: heavy, short, with ice that has room. Take it in your hand, the weight is part of the experience, and with the wide opening the aroma arrives right away.