Patent Application
20200377281
The present invention provides a shot glass in a drinking glass that is disposable or for permanent use. The drinking glass has a lid or a cover and can be insulated or non-insulated.
A mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed. Some mixed drinks contain liquor, i.e., defined herein as an ethanol or ethyl alcohol-containing liquid. Examples of alcohol-mixed drinks include gin and tonic, vodka and orange juice, and rum and cola, to name a few. The non-alcoholic beverage ingredient is referred to as a mixer. Occasionally the mixer is a lower alcohol content beverage.
Typically, the alcohol-containing ingredient is measured from a large bottle of spirits into a shot glass which is then poured into a drinking glass, either before or after the mixer is added to the drinking glass, with or without ice. Ice, when used, can be added in no particular order. Two glasses are required, and an implement to stir the drink. The host must keep in stock a bottle of every possible liquor a guest might request.
This works well in the context of a public drinking establishments or in homes furnished with a bar in the basement, family room or den. But for the occasional home mixologist without a bar area in their house, drink mixing accoutrements and ingredients tend to clutter the kitchen and often cannot be found when guests arrive. Complete mixology sets and all the bottles of liquor that might be requested are also cumbersome to carry and use at events such as picnics and barbecues.
The transporting of drink-mixing equipment and liquor is also cumbersome to caterers hired to serve mixed drinks at events. And there is an ever-present need to ensure their servers are not over-generous with their pour, as a matter of profitability and public safety.
Finally, mixed drink cocktails have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. There are now literally thousands of cocktail recipes available and entire smart phone apps devoted to providing them to party hosts. Even if they can readily reference a recipe over the internet, it is not practical for the average host to have all the ingredients on hand that are needed for the many popular mixed drinks available today.
There remains a need among party hosts for a simpler way to serve mixed drinks that doesn't require stocking a large variety of ingredients and mixing equipment.
This need is met by the present invention. The present invention solves this problem by combining these multiple components into a single article. In one embodiment, the present invention provides drinking glasses with built in shot glasses, each with a lid or cover for the drinking glass. The alcoholic beverage is added to the shot glass, after which the mixer and optional ice is added and the cover is secured to the drinking glass. The assembled container can then be shaken to mix the drink.
The invention can be used for portion control and convenient drink mixing when at home. In another embodiment a cover is provided for the shot glass, so that one can measure liquor into the shot glass, over which the cover is secured, so that the user can take the apportioned liquor to a separate location for mixing and consumption. That is, the apportioned liquor can be taken to a party, cookout or a Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) restaurant. The mixing glass cover serves as an extra seal to prevent spillage of the liquor. At the destination, both covers are removed, the mixer and optional ice are added, the mixing glass cover is replaced, and the drink is mixed by shaking. This eliminates the need to transport a full bottle of liquor and subsequently travel with open bottles of unused liquor. This embodiment of the invention can also be used by caterers to apportion liquor for dozens of mixed drinks in advance for subsequent mixing at an event. The drinks may be served in the container of the invention or poured into the drinking glasses used by the caterer.
The invention can also be used as a container for liquor distributors to market individual drinking glasses with shots of liquor for subsequent addition of the mixer and optional ice. In another embodiment, the shot glass is sealed with a removable cover having a pull tab, and contains liquor added at the bottling plant. The mixing glass in which the shot glass is positioned also has a removable cover that can be reattached, either by snugly fitting the rim of the drinking glass or by being a screw cap. The assembly would be offered wherever liquor is sold and taken to the purchaser's destination where the mixer and optional ice is added and the drink is mixed. This means of liquor distribution permits a group of people each to enjoy a reasonable number of different mixed drinks without having to purchase several different bottles of liquors.
In another embodiment, the drinking glass is a mug, or other type of cup for holding a hot beverage, such as coffee, with a built in shot glass, to mix liquor-containing coffee drinks. A liquor, such as Irish whiskey, can be added to the shot glass, after which the mug or cup is filled with coffee. As with the drinking glass embodiment, either or both the mug or cup and the shot glass can be provided with covers. And the shot glass of the mug or cup can also be used as a container for liquor distributors to market individual shots of liquor for subsequent addition of coffee.
In another embodiment, a kit is provided containing the drinking glass of the present invention with the built-in shot glass containing liquor, in which both the shot glass and drinking glass are covered, in combination with a sealed container of the mixer to be combined with the liquor. With such a kit, a party host is no longer required to know the difference between a Manhattan, an Old Fashioned and a Sazerac, three similar drinks, nor must they stock the ingredients for all three drinks. The present invention also provides kits containing a mug or a cup with a built-in shot glass containing liquor, in which both the shot glass and cup or mug are covered, in combination with a package of instant, ground or whole bean coffee to be brewed for mixing with the liquor.
This invention may be understood by reference to the drawing figures submitted herewith. Those skilled in the art will understand that various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various features and elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention described herein. Furthermore, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the claimed embodiments.
The present invention is illustrated with one type of drinking glass and other styles of glassware footed or unfooted may be used. For example, the glass can be a tumbler, goblet, ice tea glass, pint glass, pilsner glass, old fashioned glass, rocks glass, highball glass, hurricane glass, zombie glass or cocktail glass. For purposes of the present invention, “glass” is also defined as including a beer mug or coffee mug. Beer mug, pilsner glass or pint glass embodiments can be used, for example, to make boilermakers, in which a shot of whiskey is added to a serving of beer. The coffee mug embodiment can be used to make Irish coffee and other liquor-containing coffee drinks.
The term “glass” references tableware and not the material from which the tableware is made. The glass can be made of glass, ceramic, metal, plastic and other materials commonly used for tableware. The choice of material will depend on whether the product is intended to be reusable, disposable or recyclable. Reusable products may be designed as commemorative objects or keep-sakes.
With reference to
In certain embodiments, the volume of the mixing glass ranges between four and sixteen times larger than the volume of the shot glass. In other embodiments, the volume of the mixing glass ranges between six and twelve times larger than the volume of the shot glass. In other embodiments the volume of the mixing glass ranges between four and eight times larger than the volume of the shot glass.
It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to mixing alcoholic beverages, and can also be used to mix two non-alcoholic beverages. Or a powdered flavoring can be stored in the shot glass for reconstitution with a liquid in the mixing glass.
In the drawings and the foregoing specification, the disclosure has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. It will be evident that various modifications may be made without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded as illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense.
While the methods and apparatuses have been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the disclosure need not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures. The present disclosure includes any and all embodiments of the following claims.
