My perfect nosing glass

[orangedogofglory]

my current fav is the reidel fortified wine stemless glass, it looks like this:

I use the same type of glass, only in the spirits size - part of their O line. Same shape as this but a little smaller.

[RyanFantastic]

my current fav is the reidel fortified wine stemless glass, it looks like this:

I use the same type of glass, only in the spirits size - part of their O line. Same shape as this but a little smaller.

My Current favourite is similar as well:

Iittala Essence Tumbler

It's rather large however, a 1.5 oz pour fills it to the wide area near the bottom.

[Ryguy]

I've tried Riedel, Glencairn and Spiegelau.
I have come back to my SMWS glasses though.

They feel nicer and give a more concentrated nose than the Glencairn (too heavy)
The Spiegelau loses all aroma for me.
The Riedel loses aroma too, though it is often very good for flavour.

So back to the SMWS which works for me on all levels.
Some whiskies do seem better out of the Riedel (drinking) and sometimes I will pour some from the SMWS to the Riedel for tasting after nosing.
Not often though - too much palaver.

smws glasses.jpg

I'll second that, this glass is WONDERFUL!!! It works great on the nose and palate for me.

[Malt Meister]

Aside from a shorter stem, is the SMWS glass much different than the copita?

http://whiskyglass.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=16

In Canada these a $12 each. Are they worth it?

[sampaiocaleia]

Glencairn for sure!!!.

[Lawrence]

Aside from a shorter stem, is the SMWS glass much different than the copita?

http://whiskyglass.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=16

In Canada these a $12 each. Are they worth it?

For $12 you don't have much to loose, I'd give it a try. I have several of this type anlong with Glencairns and SMWS glasses.

[Deactivated Member]

C57, I am astonished at your findings with the Spiegelau.

In my own various tests the Spiegelau has always outperformed all others. Even when I have guests at home, they have found the same. The nose with a Spiegelau is always more intense and offers much more than any other glass I have here.

The one problem I have with the Spiegelau is making comparisons when I don't use it as all others offer such lower performance.

Strange.
MT

[Deactivated Member]

I will always gladly give a good home to any homeless Spiegelaus.

[borgom]

At the risk of being "poo poo'd" I actually find the Riedel glass the best.
It might be my big nose but I find it far easier to pull apart the aroma with this glass.
I also prefer the way the whisky hits the tongue when drinkiing from it.
For me the other glasses actually consentrate the nose too much which overwhelms my senses.

[Down by The Law]

Personally I also find the SMWS glass has been the best for me on nosing/tasting. I'd place the ISO wine tasting glass second and Glencairn third. Having said that I prefer the Glencairn at home as its easier to wash and less liable to breakages. I haven't tried the copita with a lip around the rim but this could have good results if my wine glasses are anything to go by. The biggest problem with tasting at home is getting glasses scrupulously clean and avoiding picking up cooking aromas (if stored in the kitchen) which can all supress the aromas in the glass.

I've read a number of articles on wine glassware and it seems that the finer the crystal glass the better it transports the aroma. Downside is that they break easier when being washed (I don't have a dishwasher).

Another theory I would throw up from wine glassware is that different whiskies may suit different glasses? Riedel (and others) produce a variety of red wine glasses for wines to be served at the same temperature. Also, Burgundians swear by their glass for pinot noir, holding that the lip around the rim transports the aromas better. Would it therefore make sense that an Islay may suit one glass and a lowland another? Or different glasses for non-sherried and sherried malts. Riedel make great play that their glasses are shaped so that the wine is delivered to different parts of the tongue/mouth to suit the difference in tannins etc. (or this could be clever marketing!!)

A downside of using different glasses is the amount of cupboard space required. Particularly if you also like Belgian Beers and have an ever-expanding collection of glasses that pretty much change for each beer. Still trying to find a space for my Kwak glass!

[Lawrence]

At the risk of being "poo poo'd" I actually find the Riedel glass the best.

poo poo



Seriously, some people do like the Riedel so that's good enough for me. I seem to remember for my study that the Riedel benefited from a much larger sample (several ounces) which may be part of it's appeal!

[Deactivated Member]

I have often sung the praises of the Spiegelau and over the last week whilst I have been revisiting Auchentoshan 3 Wood, I was slightly disappointed with the nose of it in my Spiegelau.

I was going to suggest that maybe some drams are not so suited to it, but then I tried the same dram in a different glass and it was even more indistinct.

So, I carry on preferring the Spiegelau, but as I have already said, one problem is when trying to compare drams across different glasses. The Spiegelau is so good (in my opinion) that the same whisky will then disappoint in a different glass.

[borgom]

You may be right Lawrence, I think a two fingered pour is best - the index and pinky fingers of course!

[orangedogofglory]

You may be right Lawrence, I think a two fingered pour is best - the index and pinky fingers of course!

or one finger, straight up

been using a brandy snifter here and there lately - works pretty well, but haven't yet done a head to head against the smaller reidel

[peergynt323]

I keep coming back to the Ardbeg glass. I like Glencairn as a measuring stick, but for my nose (and palate and there's probably a big psychological factor to it as well) I get the most out of the Ardbeg. Also, I like Riedel's bourbon copita and I want to try more copita-shaped glasses.

[Elagabalus]

I also use the Riedel glass. I love it.

I'm just not a fan of long stemmed glasses for nosing or tasting whisky. Just doesn't seem appropriate, seems "too french" for a "scottish product." However when have you seen a stemmed cognac glass?

[Mr Fjeld]

Among all the glass threads I thought it was best to find the one which was most recently active - so, here goes:
My better half surprised me with a Whisky Tasting set from Orrefors - a Swedish glassmaker. The set is beautiful and also works very well. The water glass on the side is a good idea - although any given glass will do of course. The water jug is very good to pour from and it's very easy to restrict the amount of water to only a few drops should one wish so. The snifter itself is perhaps the best snifter I've tried so far. The mouth of the glass is smallish but concentrates the scents very well. It really brought out the best in the Glenlivet XXV.



http://www.orrefors.com/main.asp

[Muskrat Portage]

That picture certainly made me sit up and take notice! B certainly has given you a delightful gift there!

Well done my friend!

Musky

[CraigL]

Too bad the SMWSA won't sell their glasses to non members

[jimidrammer]

I still have yet to join the SMWSA club, but I do like the look of the glass. I did not find them on their site, only tumblers. Anywhere to get that particular glass without the logo or are they exclusive?

[The Bone Ranger]

As a newcomer to whisky, I'd not thought too much about glassware, and had been drinking out of Glenmorangie tumblers which came with a Glenmorangie 10yo I bought as my first whisky. They had the name of the whisky on it, they must be perfect for it, right? HA! After doing some reading the other day, I thought 'what the hell, everybody says glassware makes a big difference, try it'.

Last night I grabbed a small wine glass (well, standard size for a bar), and poured a Macallan Fifties. The difference was incredible! Much sweeter and more homogenous both on the nose and to taste. Like the alcohol had been turned down somewhat, allowing other characteristics to come through. I followed this with an Aberlour A'bunadh that was quite intimidating in a tumbler, where alcohol was the overriding impression on the nose, enough to make me recoil a little. But in the wine glass, this was greatly diminished, again bringing out more of the fruit characteristics. Whiskies I previously enjoyed, suddenly I was in love with.

I could not believe the difference. I had to stop myself from trying every other bottle in my collection, to see the difference and see if I enjoyed them even more than I had previously. That will be tonight's task...

Thanks for this thread.

Andrew (who is about to order some Glencairn glasses from a source in Australia...)

[LagaDrinker]

It is Spiegelau for me at the moment, I still have at least three on my to try list.

[LagaDrinker]

It is Spiegelau for me at the moment, I still have at least three on my to try list.

How are you getting on with them then - you like them?

I do really like them, I think they are very good. Far better than anything I had tried before. Many thanks again

[The Bone Ranger]

Bone Ranger, it's good to see you experimenting. I've personally found that I enjoy whiskies in different glasses. Some are better in the glencairns, some in brandy snifters.

Next up, adding water to some of your whiskies.

Way ahead of you...

I played with some water in the A'bunadh, to tame some of the massive alcohol nose I was getting in the tumbler, but things have changed with this glass adventure, so it might be time to play a little more...

Andrew

[triguy42]

I started out in tumblers about 10 years ago and quickly switched to a more tulip-shaped cheap crystal glass originally intended for something else (B). I found some really nice white wine tulip glasses that are stll my favorites overall (A). Very similar to the stemless version that I bought at the Royal Copenhagen store at my last visit (D). The Bruichladdich glass is hopeless for nosing and evaporates the alcohol very quickly, I keep it as a reminder of my last trip to Islay. The Talisker glass (E) is similar to the Glencairn glasses, and I find that it concentrates the alcohol vapor too much for my nose. I can't get anything for flavors from it. I didn't take a pic of the Riedel glasses since everyone knows them. For me it's a tossup between the Riedel and Royal Copenhagen. The Riedel tends to be a little stronger on the nose but I think the slight bowling of the RC glass helps with complexity.

PS-don't laugh at my wall, it's one of the only places in the kitchen that hasn't been properly repainted....

Tasting_glasses.jpg

[Rantavahti]

Glencairn is definitely the best, but not their nosing Copita glass. The original Glencairn serves whisky the best way. I also bought couple of nicely shaped Copita glasses - Ardbeg's glasses from their webshop. Those are good too...occasionally a tumbler is the best way to go, when your in a hurry or just want to drink big mouthfuls for some reason. I actually wrote a blog post about this subject, pros and cons of different types of whiskey glasses:

http://www.whiskyrant.com/whiskey-glass ... -tumblers/