The Champagne Coupe actually Coupé has a story that puts it right up there.
Since the 1950’s champagne has been served in flutes. Flutes are those tall skinny glasses we see all over town. Makers of champagne flutes claim that the glass keeps the bubbles longer. As my wife says, “If your champagne is running out of bubbles drink faster.”
Why Not a Flute?
The origin of the Champagne Coupe can be traced back to the greeks. They too used bowl shaped cups for wine, long before the brits discovered champagne. The Champagne Coupe is simply a Coupé in French and it is used for martini’s and many cocktails as well. The Coupé and the V shaped martini glass used to be the staple on every bar sign in the US until Jimmy Carter killed the three martini lunch.
The story of the Coupé is what lends it to being a CoolToys. I prefer to drink out of a Coupé myself for champagne and for cocktails. Now that Waterford is no longer made in Ireland, it only makes sense that I would find the last of the great French Crystal makers for my Coupés. Baccarat. Yes they are expensive, but they are made by craftsman in an EU country, not semi slave labor in the far east.
But That’s Not The Cool Story
The CoolToys® part of the Coupé story began when I found out that Kate Moss lent her left breast to be the model for a Coupé. If you are ever at London’s 34 Restaurant and order Champagne, you can see the result. It turns out that some of the original greek drinking bowls were modeled on a woman’s breast. The rumors of the size and shape of the famous French Coupé is that of Marie Antionette.
As soon as I mentioned this, my wife laughed and said “Duh, that was on Emily in Paris“. I can’t prove it is true, but it makes for a great CoolToys Story. When I started researching what the best Champagne Coupe is, I started with one of my favorite magazines. The Robb Report. Instantly I disagreed with their list of the top Coupés to own.
After doing a lot of research and learning where many were really made I decided to create my own list. Some you can buy on Amazon and support our show. Others like the Baccarat, are not so easy to acquire.
First Place – Baccarat Masséna Coupé
The Baccarat line is made in France where Champagne really started, even though the brits discovered Champagne, the French perfected it and more importantly trademarked it. The next best thing is also from France, Cremént. Basically made the same way as Champagne but not from the Region of Champagne.
Second Place – Libbey Coupe
The Libbey Coupe is a very simple and traditional style. A bit longer stemmed than the Ritz or Hemingway Coupe. This one is made in the USA which gets bonus points. While I like the look and feel of the “Ritz” or “Hemingway” coupe I couldn’t find any of those made in Japan, the EU or the USA, so no winners there.
Third Place – The Libbey Tiki Coupe.
The Tiki Coupe gets third place just because it is all the right things. A boob, er bowl shaped glass with a cool tiki stem. If they aren’t made in the USA we’ll change it from Third to “Honorable Mention” because either way they are kinda cool.
We haven’t bought them yet but we are at the beach and right next door to BeachStreetNews so who knows.
If I am going to bee seen drinking champagne I prefer it be from a glass designed after a beautiful woman breast. That gets the CoolToys® stamp of approval. If you need to buy yourself an after Christmas or Pre-New Years gift, why not have the coolest glass for your 2021 toast that puts 2020 in the rearview for ever?
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