A cocktail glass is a stemmed glass with an inverted cone bowl. Though they are often referred to as martini glasses, they differ from martini glasses in that they have smaller, narrower bowls with rounded or flat bottoms, while martini glasses generally have larger, wider bowls which are fully conical at the bottom.
It is mainly used to serve cocktails. Its form derives from the fact that all cocktails are traditionally served chilled and contain an aromatic element. Thus, the stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without affecting the temperature of the drink, and the wide bowl places the surface of the drink directly under the drinker's nose, ensuring that the aromatic element has the desired effect.
A standard cocktail glass contains 13 centilitres (4.5 US fl oz).
Oversized cocktail glasses, ranging in capacity from 18 cl (6 US fl oz) to large glasses of 35 cl (12 US fl oz) or more are available.