Via iStockphoto / @lidi.aaaa TikTok
A woman ordered a $30 martini from upscale Italian New York City restaurant Cipriani. She wasn’t prepared for the glass it came in.
There’s nothing like lifting an ice-cold martini glass up and enjoying that first sip. No matter where it happens—at a backyard barbecue or a Michelin-starred restaurant—it feels effortlessly elegant. But what happens if you take away the barware? According to one New York City woman, it becomes a reckoning with mortality.
In a short TikTok video that gives a glimpse into one evening out, Lidia (@lidi.aaa) captures a quick scan of her drink. At first glance, it looks like a short water glass someone tossed a couple of olives into. Then the in-video caption explains what’s really going on. She writes, “When your martini comes out in this…?”
But it’s Lidia’s emotional state that is most striking. She’s added audio from Beyoncé’s song “Sorry.”
“So what are you going to say at my funeral?” Beyoncé asks. “Here lies the body of the love of my life whose heart I…”
The sound abruptly cut off, but the sentiment is clear: Lidia’s heart has been broken.
Victims Of The Cipriani Martini
In the comments section, Lidia confirmed she was dining at the upscale Italian restaurant, Cipriani. There,
“Was this at Cipriani? Bc I thought I was being pranked when it happen to me like what?!” one viewer said.
“Omgggg we got that at cipriani and I never want to go back,” another wrote.
“I KNEW IT!!!! I’ve also been a victim of Cipriani martinis,” a third said.
“Is this cipriani ?! They played in my face as well,” a fourth wrote.
Lidia also confirmed the cost of the martini. “Yesss and it was somehow $30,” she wrote.
BroBible reached out to Cipriani.
The Iconic Martini Glass
Shaped “an upside-down pyramid balancing atop a thin stem,” the now-unmistakable martini glass arrived about 40 years after the martini was invented. The 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris celebrated the angular “Style Moderne” (later known as Art Deco). The angular glass was the modern era’s answer to the champagne coupe, no matter how awkward it was to actually use.
The coupe is the wide-brimmed glass bowl that sits on top of a slender stem. Legend has it that the glass was designed based on the shape of Marie Antoinette’s breast. Though that myth has largely been disproven, it still hints at the decadence of that doomed queen’s court.
It became the glassware of choice for martinis because of the temperature at which the drink is served: ice cold. The long stem keeps the drink from being warmed up by human hands, while “the wide brim lets the spirit breathe, and the angled sides ensure a perfect blend of flavors,” reports the website, Hudson Grace.
Are Martinis Getting Smaller?
The short, stemless glass may be a part of a larger trend that sees the iconic beverage being downsized. Because martini glasses got to be so large, up to 16 ounces, reports the Los Angeles Times, the drink was overwhelming. “You either drink it quickly at the proper temperature, and get tipsy, or you sip it slowly and watch it pool into a glass of warm gin,” that article notes.
Now, as alcohol consumption falls, and moderation is a part of drinking culture, the drinks are getting smaller.
BroBible reached out to Lidia via email and TikTok direct message. We will update this article if she tells us how her evening went.