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🥃Whiskey Glassware Guide - What you need on your shelf

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Go into your buddy's house and open their cabinet. What do you see? Probably a good number of differing glasses across shapes, sizes, and styles. Form follows function and this is especially true with glassware. The good news for whiskey drinking as opposed to wine is that the differences between glass types are limited. In this post, we'll go over the anatomy of a glass, common types, and my recommendation for a starting glassware set. 

Parts of a Glass

Diagram of Parts of a Class

The anatomy of a glass can be described in terms of four main parts:
  • Rim - Outer edge of the glass. Many varieties will have cupped or curved rims with a smaller diameter than the bowl to better hold in aromas for smelling. Thickness here can also have major impacts on the "feel" of the drink. Wider diameter glasses disperse any strong alcohol odors more quickly. 
  • Bowl - The container. Bowls are typically either straight sided or curve. Bowls may increase in diameter and then decrease again to create an odor pocket. 
  • Stem - A tapering in the glass below the bowl, the stem functions as a handle or grip to allow for easier swirling of the contents, reduce the risk of dropping the glass, or distance the bowl from a surface to prevent condensation/heat transfer. 
  • Base - The contact point between the bowl, optionally stem, and a horizontal surface. Bases should provide stability and be appropriate in footprint relative to the height of the glass. 

Common Types of Whiskey Glasses

clear tumbler style glass

Tumbler - The general catch-all for a glass. This category includes old-fashioned glasses, highball, lowball, and rocks glasses. These are typically solid or heavier feeling containers with semi-straight sides. They may have a wider rim. Great for most uses other than high intensity tasting/sampling.
shot glass, clear, 1.5oz
Shot Glass - Straight sided small volume glass between 1.25-3ounces. Best used for cheaper pours or to help limit your consumptions. I typically drink out of these while gaming with the boys since it prevents me from guzzling through a hefty pour too quickly.

Typical Snifter style glass
Snifter - Typically a tulip or tapering bowl glass for focusing aromas, often with a short stem. Best for fragrant small cocktails or intentional tastings. You may see longer stemmed copita glasses with pronounced upper chiminies which perform very similarly.

Glencairn box of four
Glencairn - Developed by Glencairn Crystal near Glasgow in 1981, the glass of the same name was inspired by nosing copitas used in Scotch Whisky labs. Standing about 4.5in tall, they enclose around 175ml/6oz. of space though they are intended to only hold about 50ml at a time. Use for sniffing the good stuff. They come in a larger Canadian style as well as both stemmed and stemless mini-glens, my go-to for weeknight drinking as it somewhat limits your serving size. 

N.E.A.T. - Naturally Engineered Aroma Technology (obviously a backronym) and originally the byproduct of a glass blowing mistake. NEAT glasses have a roughly hourglass shape that proports to emphasize good aromas while dissipating the alcohol burn. Really a marketing gimmick but fun all the same.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tasting Glass
Kentucky Bourbon Trail Tasting Glass - Developed in partnership between glass giant Libbey and the Kentucky Distiller's Association, the official Bourbon Trial Tasting glass sits somewhere between a Canadian Glencairn and and a rocks glass, providing a stem for swirling in addition to a larger body and aperture. Distillers and bourbon barons tasted a number of options before settling on this one based on its versatility, especially with respect to higher proof whiskies. The wider mouth and body allow for more alcohol fumes to escape, enabling easier nosing at high ABV. The 8oz. size is the official though you can also find a 13.5oz version, both available from Amazon, restaurant supply stores, Libbey directly, or a variety of distillery merch shops. I have the above from Maker's Mark and do think it does perform well, though I believe that a snifter or most wine glasses will perform similarly if you already have one of those on hand.
Kenzie Tasting Glass - Penelope Branded

Kenzie Tasting Glass - Produced by Arcoroc (Arc International), the Kenzie tasting glass is a modern alternative to the Glencairn with similar functions. While Glencairns are relatively fragile, the Kenzie was designed with restaurant and bar use in mind. It has a thinner overall footprint with slight taper for nosing, thicker side glass, and attenuated rim. Wile it holds 5.75oz. it is intended to hold  a 1.5oz tasting pour. I find little real difference between this and the standard Glencairn, though they do definitely hold up better and have a bigger "printable" profile for adding custom designs. 

Recommended Whiskey Glass Loadout

While there are a huge number of options on the market, I recommend starting with the below list for a minimum viable starting set. Stick to lead free glass and stay away from leaded crystal, plastic or metal options.
  • 4 Lowball glasses 10-14oz. for cocktails or big ice balls, mostly for guests. Make sure they have a thick base to help with temperature. I do like versions that have a small amount of curved taper. These should feel heavy. 
  • 2 Glencairns - For getting your fancy nose on your better bottles. Get the normal Glencairn size, not the mini-glen or larger Canadian versions. You need two because good whiskey is to be shared.  To save some cash, you can pick up Kenzie tasters which are a little smaller but quite cheap.
  • 4 Shot glasses - 1.5oz. glasses
For custom glassware, check out our guide to etching and sand carving.
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