Mixing glass are both beautiful and frustrating. In San Francisco near where I live, you can’t have a craft cocktail bar without a Yarai Mixing glass. But glass means risk of breakage – so today I’m going to look a few different types and I’ll give my recommendation for the one I liked to use behind the bar.
Mixing Glass Review:
Mixing Glasses Mentioned in the Video:
Here are the mixing glasses I mentioned in the video. You should know – some of the links below are affiliate links and clicking on them supports our site. Thank you for your support!
Availability Update (2015)
Since this video was filmed, availability of the Mixing Glasses I discussed has changed quite a bit. I have updated my recommendations below to reflect what is available (as of August 2015) which may not be the exact same pieces I referenced in the video.
Yarai Mixing Glass
“Yarai” is not actually a brand, it’s a reference to the diamond-cut shape within the glass. These mixing glasses are a great presentation piece. In 2012-2013 I had a lot of issues with breakage with this type of mixing glass, but in 2015 I’m finding it’s not as much of a concern. They are still glass, so you should be cautious about extreme temperature changes (like taking it right out of the hot dishwasher and filling with ice.) But if you are careful you shouldn’t have to deal with too much breakage.
Takuro Yarai Mixing Glass
Takuro is another brand that offers Mixing glasses in a variety of styles. In 2013, it was the brand that I suggested – but unless you live in Australia, I can no longer find this item available for purchase. On the other hand, the durability of Yarai mixing glasses has improved across the board so I don’t think it’s vital that you search out this particular brand anymore.
Extra Large Mixing Glass
If you are in a high volume bar and need the extra mixing space, this is a great option. At 950mL, it’s substantially bigger than all of the other mixing glasses here. Be aware that standard Julep Strainers will not fit in this mixing glass. Also, because of the size, I have a hard time getting a good grip on the mixing glass when I am pouring.
Stemmed Mixing Glass
Another mixing glass from Cocktail Kingdom, this is another great choice if the design works for your bar. The base is a great way to secure the mixing glass during stirring, but can be cumbersome to pour from. I also found this as durable as the Takuro line.
Update: This Mixing Glass is no longer available. I will keep my eye out for another!
Do you have any other mixing glasses that you use? Tell us in the comments!
Beautiful mixing glasses, and thanks for the commentary as to why you prefer the different brands. Just out of curiosity, we use metal shakers, and metal Julep cups, but why have metal mixing “glasses” not become common? I have a metal vessel about the same size and shape as a Takuro mixing glass, made of a heavier gauge stainless steel and with a rather attractive handle. Gets the same frost as my metal shaker tin, easy to toss around and clean and has not yet broken. Any thoughts?
PS, thanks for all your videos!
Thanks Ernie and a great question.
I personally have not seen a metal mixing glass, but I would love to try one out. If you have a link to the one you like, I’d love to experiment with it.
My only thought about the “science” (I use that term very loosely BTW) of why people would prefer glass to metal is because of the different rates of heat exchange between glass and metal. That’s some pretty geeky stuff, but for the most part, I would love to find a good looking stainless steel mixing glass.
Hey, guys- I clicked on the link above for the Takuro mixing glass but the website said I “do not have access to this page.” Furthermore, when I used the search function to look up the brand, it came up empty. Any suggestions on where else I can find and buy one of these? Google searches have come up empty 🙁
Thanks!
Hey Karef – Thanks so much for letting us know! I updated the link for the Anasoha mixing glsas (which was also broken), but had the same trouble you did finding the Takuro Mixing glasses. I was able to find the Takuro Paddle mixing glass in Cocktail Kingdom’s Australian website – so if you’re in Australia hopefully that helps! It looks like Cocktail Kingdom just doesn’t stock the Takuro products anymore in the USA. Thanks again for pointing this out!
I can’t find the Tekuro at Cocktail Kingdom anymore. Is there anywhere else I can find it?
Hey Ryan – yes, unfortunately they took this off their product list at some point since we created this video. Nowadays the quality of most Yarai glasses is much higher (in my opinion) so you have more options. The reviews are good on Amazon for this Seamless (http://amzn.to/1PdrmLr) and this seamed (http://amzn.to/1PBB8ox) mixing glass. Hope that helps!