shush, will you? It's a fine question though, and I wish I had a straight and unequivocal answer for you, but alas, I'm a relativist, and here we are. Near as I can tell and from what I can find it's primarily a matter of both shape and volume. Let's take a look:

As you can see, both are chimney-style glasses and there's a generally accepted cut-off at 12oz which defines it as either a highball or collins. There is also a chimney-shaped glass in the 5-8oz range called a 'delmonico' or 'fizz' glass but they're rarely seen or used anymore. The form factor is important in that a double-old fashioned glass is usually 8-12oz like a highball but is shorter and stockier and has more of a bucket-shaped build. And, should I ever catch you making a drink which calls for a highball glass in a an old-fashined style glass I will most definitely come put the hurt on you. Why, you ask? Well, you're more likely to use a straw with the chimney-styled glasses and more likely to stir (with a sip/stirrer thingy) and drink from the side (and get an up-close and personal experience with the drink's garnish) using a bucket-style. So, you see, form meets function in the cocktail world too.

For my review I'll be comparing 3 glasses, 2 Collins and 1 highball of various sizes and quality to get a feel for how they function in preparing the same drinks and in handling in general. I will rate them in four areas; size, style/feel, use/durability, and overall value. The drink I've made with each of them is the Gin Fizz (I refuse to call it a Tom Collins because I'm not using Old Tom gin) and while I have varying levels of experience and time with each of them, I believe the impressions and assesments of the merits and drawbacks to be on-target.

Vivant Highball Glass by Riedel, $39.99 (4 pack):

This is the only crystal glass in the bunch (Tyrol) and it's reflected in the price. The crystal also makes them quite heavy, if gorgeous to look at. However, under all of this pretty pretty crystal lies a major flaw; this isn't a freaking highball glass. Hell, it's not even a Collins glass; this behemoth bastard is 18.5 ounces in size (Riedel should know better). It's basically a glorified drinking glass that should be used for serving water. You make a tall cocktail in this and you end up with one of three things, and none of them good; having to make a triple to avoid looking silly having 3-4 inches of space left at the top of the glass, having 3-4 inches left at the top of the glass because you don't want to be dead in your soup after one drink, or having to continue to top the damned drink with club soda or whatever you're topping it off with and ending up having mildly flavored and off-putting soda water. 

So, cocktailians, skip this one. They're gorgeous, but like so many gorgeous things, they'll just break your heart or leave you dead drunk or both. To be fair there is one quality to this glass that I loved design-wise. The bottom of the glass has a pressed cross-hatch pattern that looks splendid and prevents the glass from sticking to a flat, solid surface. This is a great feature; far too often in the humid Oklahoman Summer I lift my glass and find it firmly sealed to my cocktail napkin, the coaster, or have to peel it off the table gently. This etched pattern mitigates that to some degree and is very aesthetically pleasing.

Size Rating: 1 out of 5 stars (use for water, not mixed drinks)

Style/Feel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (clean lines, classy, feels of quality)

Use/Durability Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (crystal makes me nervous and the hand-washing is a pain)

Overall Value Rating: 2 out of 5 stars (for my intended purposes, a terrible value)

Highball Glass by LSA International, $29.99 (4 pack):

I loved the way these glasses looked as soon as they came out of the box. These are hand-blown soda lime glasses and look very sophistcated while remaining unassuming. The top lip has a very flat edge and the weight of the glass is reassuring and not as overwhelming as the Riedels. Now, once again, we're not dealing with a true highball glass as these are 13.5 ounces. However, this turns out to be a very comfortable size for the double (i.e. 3 oz gin) Gin Fizzes I tend to make. Through my extensive use of these (what can I say, I found a box for half-price on eBay) I've found them to be a very servicable daily-use glass. They are nice enough to put in front of guests and hearty and durable enough for everyday wear and tear – though I have noticed a few tiny knicks and chips develop at the base on the inside of one from having the ice dispenser thunk ice into them.

Overall this is a very nice glass; my main problem involvesthe design of the base as there's no beveling or etching as with the Riedels to rpevent them from sticking too much to surfaces. They are a perfect height for the traditional long sip-n-stir bar straws used in tall drinks as well as leaving a half inch or so at the top of the glass. So, while I cringe now when I dispense ice directly into them (versus scooping), these are a very good all around tall drink glass (truly a Collins glass) that provide a bit of upscale look and feel to the beverage.

Size Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (great size for a traditional Collins)

Style/Feel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (nice crisp look w/ a heavy base)

Use/Durability Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (don't be cavalier with them, but overall just fine)

Overall Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (great glass at a fair price, great price on eBay if you can find it)

Jungle Highball Glass by Cocktailvibe (aka Impulse Enterprises), $9.60 (ea.):

In full disclosure, I was sent these by Cocktailvibe, a provider of high-end glasswar
e and lifestyle products, as the result of a discussion they and I had regarding their advertising on this site. I assured them they were sending it at their peril and that I would give a full and honest review. These are the first true highball glasses in our small group here, weighing in at 10 ounces, and, as such, I adjusted my Gin Fizz recipe to a single, with 1.5 oz of gin, to get a proper feel for how mixed drinks in these glasses truly felt. Each of these glasses is unique and very much appear hand-crafted which lends a sense of quality and craftsmanship to them. One of my favorite features of using this glass was that the 'jungle' motif etched into the base and bottom-third of the glass provided a grip on the glass not felt with its smooth-sided counterparts.

The true highball nature of this glass allowed me to see how a drink and glassware can, and should, fit together with a designed purpose as I found the Gin Fizzes I made in this somewhat more balanced and more satisfying. That being said, there are a few flaws that should be pointed out in my experience with this glass. First, the base is slightly more rounded than the others in this assessment and it lends the glass a more tenuous feel. The lack of a more flat, heavily weighted, and squared base just felt a tad more unstable. Also, like the LSA, this glass doesn't feature any beveling or etching on the base to prevent it from sticking to surfaces. There is a small indentation in the base's structure that helps but combined with the more rounded base, it gives a slight feel of instability. Finally, this is the only glass which in using it developed a full-on crack in its side. Now, I know that this glass, because of its quality of manufacture and designer nature, is used at least one 5-star hotel in its Food & Beverage operations, so I'm assuming this is a one-off incident as a result of ice-dispensing strategy. Also, cocktailvibe.com offers a no questions asked broken glass replacement policy which allays my concerns in this area, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it as part of a review of my experience. This is a lovely glass, and if a recipe calls for a highball glass, of these three, I wouldn't hesitate to turn to this one as it's a great example of what a highball should be.

Size Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (a perfect highball glass)

Style/Feel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (love the jungle design, mark off for base design)

Use/Durability Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (with the replacement policy, this is much less a concern)

Overall Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (great design and size, and sure to make any highball drink more stylish)

So, all in all I feel like the LSA comes out on top of the Collins group, and that the Jungle is a near-perfect example of a highball so both have a place in your glassware collection. However, knowing that most people won't be looking at these specific makes and models for their collection here are some general guidelines:

• Look for 13-14oz in a Collins and 10oz in highball,
• Look for a base that provides heft and a sense of security,
• If available in your price range, look for a base with some texture that prevents 'sticking',
• If possible find a side that gives a feel of grip as well as style, and
• Try to scoop your ice into your glass instead of dispensing from your refrigerator.

If you have other suggestions or recommendations I'd love to hear them, as , well, I'm a bit of a nerd about these sorts of things. Cheers.

Fight Night!: Highball/Collins Glasses is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. from cocktaildb.com entry on 'Collins Glass'

This is the typical design of most low-cost zesters/channel knives with the zester at the top of the handle and a channel knife included almost as an afterthought. Overall this is a serviceable channel knife, however, as we’ll find with most of these, the channel itself is too narrow to get rind substantial enough to hold its curl for any length of time. You end up with a limp stringy (if nicely oily) strand of something resembling the rind of the fruit that if you wrap it tightly enough (and are able to keep from breaking the poor, fragile, overly slender rind) around a straw long enough – say, 30 seconds – and can immediately place it in a drink and serve it while it’s still curled then you might just have yourself a garnish of which you can be proud. However, that’s a big-assed ‘if’. Now, that’s not to say this is the worst of the lot. It just that almost all of them suffer this problem. The grip on this OXO is reassuring, if a little short. I found that when using it for a long curl running along most of the fruit’s circumference you had to be very careful not to let it twist in your hand or else the blade would cut the twist off prematurely; the short handle presented a control problem in this case. I do like how easily the cut started, thanks to the pointed edge, but all-in-all the twists and curls came out too thin, stringy, and difficult to manage into any attractive form. It gets bonus points for its price point and dishwasher friendliness, however.

Ease of Use Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (easy to start the cut, not always easy to maintain it)

Quality of Cut Rating: 2 out of 5 stars (not the worst of the bunch, but still…)

Materials/Form Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (short handle is a problem, clean up is a breeze, and felt sturdy too)

Overall Value Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (price is right at $6.99, but may not be for serious garnishing)

From what I gather Messermeister is supposed to be a fairly mid-to-high end kitchen gadgetry manufacturing company, but you wouldn’t know it by this abortive attempt to create a useful and functional channel knife. This was the first I bought and tried (from a local restaurant supply company) and so, at first, I thought it was me. After smashing the thing into, and crushing, several unfortunate lemons, I took it to my wife who has more experience with kitchen utensils and who, after commenting on my Guantanamo-like abuses to the lemons, simply said, “Hon, this is a piece of shit.” Well said. This is your Sammy Hagar to your David Lee Roth, your Shemp to your Curly, or your Thunderbird to your 1997 Opus One. Take your pick. Point is, don’t buy this; don’t even look its way. Its only redeeming quality is that it is relatively thin and gets easily lost. Unless you’re channeling potatoes or other tubers that can handle the approximately 80 lbs/sq. in. of pressure it takes to make this thing work, forget it exists. I hate it. I even thought perhaps I was missing a plastic safety film on the blade, but no, it just sucks. Maybe I got a defective one or something, but at $12.95 I don’t feel like giving the benefit of the doubt…at all.

Ease of Use Rating: 1 out of 5 stars (for throwing in frustration, 5 out of 5, for fruit, 1)

Quality of Cut Rating: 0 out of 5 stars (What cut?)

Materials/Form Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (feels like the materials are of fine quality, but the handle is a bit narrow)

Overall Value Rating: 0 out of 5 stars (sooner forgotten, the better)

This would appear to be the Jaguar of the stand-alone channel knife world. No zester here, monsieur. It’s definitely the looker among the crowd and wouldn’t be embarrassed hanging around your fine steak knives. The first thing I noticed (and looked for after my Messermeister debacle) was the sharpness, depth, and width of the blade; it seemed far superior to the others. You want to be careful of this blade given its sharp edge and the width is such that you can get a respectable, and workable, width of peel out of the fruit with which you’re working. The depth of the cut can sometimes go too deep into the pith of the fruit for my taste, but it shouldn’t overly affect the taste of whatever drink you’re preparing. It’s easy to start a cut with this knife but I find that I deeply prefer a right-angle to my fruit as I’m cutting and this requires a straight-on approach given the vertical build of the knife. Now, I’m not sure there is a channel knife with this quality a blade that’s set at 90 degrees (most seem to be designed like the OXO, with a zester attached) but I found the 90-degree versions to be much easier to handle and manage the pace and track of the fruit under the blade. However, all of this could be due to inexperience or improper use. I will say that I didn’t find a better blade and since there are nylon-handled versions of this knife available (I’m assuming it’s the same blade, just a different design) it might avoid the price aversion I have to this knife. It is, after all, a single-tasker and not good for much else.

Ease of Use Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (easy to cut, but found the vertical design challenging)

Quality of Cut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (only problem was depth-of-cut)

Materials/Form Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (beautiful to look at, but the handle is a bit narrow)

Overall Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (if the rubber-handled is the same blade, bump this to 4)

Fight Night!: Channel Knives is a post from: cocktailnerd

Soda Siphons (sometimes spelled 'syphon') and Seltzer Bottles are essentially the exact same product with the production companies generally choosing one term or the other for marketing reasons. The history of the modern seltzer bottle starts with a French patent in 1829 which had a hollow corkscrew with a valve enabling the contents of the bottle to remain carbonated and released at the user's desire. This tool became more popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s but as bottled carbonated beverages became more prevalent and after the destruction of many seltzer bottle plants in Eastern Europe – still a major producer of soda siphons – in WWII they became less common. My experiences with the different brands comes from the one my father-in-law has, my own, as well as one other I've worked with in the past; so here goes:

To compare the products I will rate the siphons in four categories; appearance and style, ease of use, soda quality, and overall value. The testing method is very subjective given that I have a different amount of time spent with each siphon and the environments were very different, however, I have a definite feel for how each performs and have used each extensively from setup, to breakdown, as well as in use and cleanup.

Liss Quart Soda Siphon, $39.99-$59.95:

This siphon, at first glance, is the most attractive of the bunch as it is the only one in the group available in a polished stainless steel look. But, upon opening the instructions you notice two things; the instructions are nearly indecipherable (and if it's your first experience with a soda siphon, woe unto you) and there seem to be some basic design issues with the thing. The charging valve is on the left side of the unit and the trigger on the back. While this is a more classic approach (since the triggers are almost always on the back of the gun in vintage versions) it lends itself to awkward holding when charging it, since you're liable to accidently hit the trigger if you're not paying attention, and when spraying it since the nozzle on this unit is offset a little lower on the neck than the others. This becomes a bit of a problem when you're dealing with a wide-lipped glass or trying to angle the unit to the opposite side of the glass from you since there's not a lot of clearance between the nozzle and the unit's body. The materials felt fairly high-quality but not particularly better or worse than the others and while I like the overall look of the siphon, the symmetry of the unit and the lack of tapering of the bottle at the top lends itself to a more utilitarian versus stylish look.

Appearance/Style Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (gain pts for polished look, lose pts for shapeliness)

Ease of Use Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (instructions are a nightmare, actual use is below-average)

Soda Quality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (held its charge well and seemed comparable to bottled/canned soda)

Overall Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (at $39.99 not bad, at $59.99 fuhgeddaboudit)

iSi Liter Soda Siphon, $39.99-$74.95:

The iSi siphon seems the best thought-out from a design standpoint. The chrome caps on the charging valve and at the top of the head are a touch of class and the curvature of the bottle and the trigger itself both make the unit a pleasure to hold and use. The instructions for the iSi are very clear and the unit breaks apart and comes together nicely without having to worry about whether you're over-torquing the head or going to leave it too lose and potentially leak. It fits together snugly and the tapered body and angle of the nozzle leave a comfortable amount of room to work in various glasses and angles. The trigger being on the right side is preferable to me with my only complaint being that the trigger is plastic versus metal. Since you're dealing with a lot of pressure coming out thought the nozzle you want to feel like you have a high amount of control (and safety) and that the parts won't give way anytime soon. I'm not sure why iSi made this choice with the trigger when it's the primary touchpoint for the user and the other units all have metal triggers, even if they don't feel so finely engineered. This unit seemed to hold its charge the best, and as with the Liss, the quality of the soda is comparable to canned and bottled club soda. This bottle felt the most well-made and for some reason feels like it's the most insulated and there's more distance between the outside and inside walls. However, at $74.95 (freaking Williams-Sonoma) I'm not sure it's worth the difference in cost. At $39.95 it's a fantastic deal.

Appearance/Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (the metallic colored ones are also very nice)

Ease of Use Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (easy to feel confident using this one)

Soda Quality Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (about the same as the Liss, extra half-point for it holding it well for so long)

Overall Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (assuming $39.95 – but only a 1-year warranty)

Leland (aka Mr. Fizz or Donato) Liter Soda Siphon, $37.99-$44.95:

The tallest and leanest of the group, this siphon suffers from a couple quality issues. First, the cap over the charging valve only was a few threads the very top and because of its cheaper plastic composite just doesn't seem like it's going to stay on or not strip the threads. The brushing effect on the outside of the bottle also has a cheaper look than the iSi which makes it look more industrial versus commercial. Also, the sharp tapering effect towards the head (unlike the iSi's gentle curvature) makes it look less refined and finely engineered than the iSi. All of that being said, I appreciate the metal-handled trigger and how sturdy the head feels overall. The instructions are clear and this unit comes with 10 chargers versus the
1 (or none) with the other units. The unit is fairly easy to use but I find myself wanting to twist, and possibly overtighten, the head because it never feels like the tube seal (the part that keeps it from leaking when pressure is built up) settles flush against the base of the unit. The quality of soda is very good though it doesn't seem to keep as well or as long as the iSi model. One thing I really like about this model is the angle and length of the nozzle. It is very easy to get to the opposite edge of just about any glass given the unit's tapered body and nozzle length. The soda water dispenses very evenly but because of the nozzle's angle there tends to be a residue of water in the nozzle that when you shake it again sort of gets all over embarrassing parts of your clothing. This unit seems to be a discontinued model by Mr. Fizz but it holds up fairly well against the competition given its average price point.

Appearance/Style Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (brushing looks a little cheap and industrial)

Ease of Use Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (getting to feel that the tube seal is secure can be difficult)

Soda Quality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (about the same as the Liss)

Overall Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (a 2-year warranty and nice that it has the 10 chargers)

Overall, the iSi is your best bet, just don't purchase it from Williams-Sonoma as there are much better deals out there on it (and they only carry the red version in their stores). By the time you purchase a box of chargers for it you're out $80+ and you can get it for almost half that. I haven't used any 2-liter or glass versions and I can tell a huge advantage to a glass version would be the fill line (I currently measure the quart or liter out when filling even though there's a 'measuring tube' that seems practically useless for measuring). The 2-liter version seems to me that unless your producing fizzes and collinses at a fairly high rate (which I've had happen, just not very often) you would burn through chargers fairly quickly or have a good amount go flat in the bottle. Plus, storage could be a problem because of the unit's size. A final word of advice; the instructions are right when they say to shake the bottle after charging. It helps… a lot.

Fight Night!: Soda Siphons is a post from: cocktailnerd