The Bombay Sapphire folks are back with the finalists in this year’s international glass competition, asking designers and artists from around the world to come up with the best martini glass.

Even if you’re not a martini fan, you’ve gotta see some of the designs. They make me want to head to the kitchen and throw out the Baccarat. (Yeah, like I’ve got a lot of THAT…) A few, like the US entry, are fine but not exactly what James Bond would reach for. Others? Wow.

Best of all, you can vote for your favorite; the world’s top choice gets an automatic bye into the finals, so here’s a chance for us glassists to guide things a bit. (And, hey…I noticed that there’s not a lot of kilnformed stuff to vote for…maybe somebody should remedy that next year)

BTW, somebody needs to tell Bombay that fabulous Flash sites are sooooooo last decade. Despite its lushness, this one is slow and definitely gets in the way of seeing the glass (for example, there are 21 entries but the layout forces them to be displayed in two banks). And since the site shows the most popular in the first position, where lazy or Flash-frustrated voters might tend to stop, it’s probably influencing the vote.

Lemme know your favorites. Mine: If I had to drink out of it (and one of the requirements is that it’s comfortable to use), would be Korea’s entry. It’s currently ranked 19th in a field of 21, which shows how well my tastes align with the world’s, I suppose. IMHO, the entry from Thailand (#9) runs a close second and Finland (#20) would take the prize for most fun. (BTW, the numbers will probably change by the time you read this)

My REAL, sheer, unadulterated ooooooooooh choice, however? Quiver (#5, Taiwan). Yum.