Riedel Vinum Extreme Martini Cocktail Glasses, Set of 4

Pretty: Unlike the standard V-shaped martini glass, the Vinum Extreme flares out at a wider angle and then becomes vertical slightly below the rim. The result, perched atop a slender stem, is striking. "Perhaps too pretty for a martini, but just right for a cosmopolitan," I thought.

Tastings: I tested the glass on 3 vodka martinis. First, a Mezzaluna martini. Mezzaluna is a semolina vodka (apparently Vodkas aren't just potatoes anymore) with an undercurrent of sweetness reminiscent of a fine bourbon. Poured over 3 olives and gently moistened with dry vermouth, it tasted outstanding in my Riedel. Notably, the shape of the glass caused the martini to pour further back on my tongue than a V-shaped glass would, and caused more martini to pour at a time. So, I was tasting more martini-volume per sip than I ordinarily would. That said, I wasn't sure if I was really tasting more martini per martini-volume, or simply more martini-volume.

A day later, I poured Chopin martinis into a Riedel martini glass and a cheaper V-shaped glass. Chopin is a Polish potato vodka that is less sweet than Mezzaluna, but still smooth and tasty. I poured my pair over 3 olives each, and made them slightly wetter than the Mezzaluna martini because I was drinking two at once. (Wine tasters should feel free to cringe right now.) The sweetness of the olives seemed slightly more noticeable in the Riedel. In retrospect, this is surprising, because the Riedel actual holds more liquid than the V-shaped glass I was comparing it with, so there was actually less olive per martini-volume to notice. Other than that-and even that may have been psychosomatic-the only difference I noticed was that the Riedel glass caused me to taste the martini _sooner_. The V-shaped glass plopped the martini toward the tip of my tongue, from which it flowed back toward the area of my tongue where the Riedel glass would simply start the party right off. Only when the martini reached the Riedel-zone of my tongue would I really taste it. But, once the martini got there, the martini got there, and tasted basically the same I thought. The Riedel would get more martini-volume to the tongue at once, assuming sips of equal dignity, and that would cause me to taste more of the martini at once, perhaps explaining the olives' presence in the Riedel martini. After draining both martinis, I determined that (a) olives at the bottom of martini glasses will taste equally excellent in any glass, (b) double-fisting martinis will cause me to fall asleep earlier during the Fellowship of the Ring movie than usual, and (c) the Riedel glass has no ameliorative impact on the hangover that may follow from double-fisting martinis. "It's all for science," I whimpered as I clutched my head.

Finally, I tested the glass on a chocolate martini, mixing a single martini and pouring half into the Riedel and half into the V. My chocolate martini is a mix of 3 chocolate liquors and vodka, poured over chocolates or chocolate-covered strawberries. Again, the shape of the glasses caused the booze to hit different portions of my tongue at first, and in different volumes, giving the Riedel an ever-so-slightly fuller taste.

Fragility: One of the reviewers of the Riedel Vinum martini glasses (as opposed to these Vinum Extreme glasses) commented on fragility. The same is true of these glasses but more so. I ordered a set of these glasses...online. All but one arrived broken, despite being wrapped in tissue paper before being placed in a tight Riedel box. Customer service immediately shipped a replacement set, all but one of which arrived intact. Desperate to prove that they could ship glasses without breaking them, customer service decided to individually wrap two glasses and send them to me. One arrived intact. These babies break easily in shipping. They are thin, thin, crystal. If you're just buying for yourself, and don't need a full set at once, you should be ok after a couple of conversations with customer service. If you want to give them as a gift, buy them in a physical location and carry them by hand to the recipient, unless this is an anniversary gift for a daughter-in-law you hate, in which case you can order them online and add a card like "Please accept these shards of glass as a symbol of what I hope your marriage has become."...

Miscellaneous tidbits: The upward curve of the top of the glass lessens the sloshing that sometimes plagues a full martini glass. I was able to move a full glass around the house without fear of spillage. The shape also results in a larger volume of martini than a V-shaped glass of equal height. Perhaps to balance out top-heaviness, the base of the glass is thicker and wider than usual, which may give you a little trouble if you want to suspend the glass from one of those glass-hanging things that people like to put under their cabinets or wine racks these days. Riedel also makes a higher-end "Sommelier" martini glass, which is pricier but which I would be happy to review if you send one my way.

Overall: These glasses are really a pleasure to drink out of, but probably not worth buying for more than, say, twice the price of an ordinary non-crystal martini glass.