Nick and Nora at the 21 Club.

Nick Charles and Nora Charles are the sparkling, Martini-swilling heart of The Thin Man, a novel that opens in late December 1932, just weeks before the repeal of Prohibition. From its very first line, set in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street, the book plunges readers into the shadowy glamour of illicit New York nightlife. That bar is widely understood to be the legendary 21 Club, where hidden doors, secret wine cellars, and a knowing clientele defined the era. In Hammett’s world, cocktails are constant companions – shaken, stirred, and sipped with a kind of effortless sophistication that turned drinking into theater.

Out of that world comes the enduring elegance of the Nick & Nora New York Speakeasy Glass. Smaller and more refined than the broad coupe, yet more poised than the sharp V of a Martini glass, it feels like something that belongs in the hand of a well-dressed couple leaning casually at a speakeasy bar. The shape encourages a measured pour – cocktails kept cold, aromatic, and perfectly balanced. Today, the glass carries with it the DNA of that brief, intoxicating moment in New York history, when Prohibition was fading, the lights were coming back on, and the ritual of the cocktail, once hidden, was about to step confidently into the open.

Unearth a world of vintage-style glassware, classic barware, and retro drinkware curated for cocktail connoisseurs and home bar collectors at Barware Essentials. Whether you're searching for a distinctive gift or elevating your home bar collection, each piece tells a story with every pour.