La Rochere Boudoir

The two sizes cover different moments. Twenty-five centilitres is the size for water, juice or a spirit over ice: it takes a generous serving without the glass becoming top-heavy. The 35 cl is taller and narrower and meant for a mixed drink with plenty of ice. If you have to pick one, take the tumbler, because it is the most broadly usable. Compare it if you like with the wider tumbler glasses category, or with the long drink glasses if you mostly pour mixed drinks. Both sizes come in sixes, so a table for six is covered by a single pack with nothing left over.

Pressed glass with relief looks its best with large, clear ice cubes; small cubes melt quickly and water the drink down before the pattern has done its work. For an old fashioned in the tumbler, use a single large block and stir in the glass itself. Pour a dark and stormy into the tall glass, with the dark rum last so you can see the layer sitting there. Water you simply pour to about two thirds, because above that the glass becomes top-heavy and you lose sight of the pattern in the wall.

Boudoir is pressed soda-lime glass and is dishwasher safe. The relief is where deposits gather, though: limescale from hard water settles in the grooves and shows up there as a dull haze. Rinse aid and a not-too-hot programme keep that at bay. Place the glasses apart in the rack, because the thick wall can take a knock but the rim remains the most vulnerable point.

The brand's other series, including the stemmed bowls, are gathered on the page for La Rochère. If you are after the same pressed, slightly nostalgic character in other shapes and from other brands, have a look at the vintage glasses. For the smaller sizes for liqueur or a digestif after dinner, there are the liqueur glasses, which sit beside the tumbler in the same style.