Inexpensive tasting glasses.

[SteveZZZ]

Lots of people on here have the Reidel glasses, or one of many other expensive and/or hard to find tasting glasses that they use. I'm sure they're great, and I do appreciate fine glassware, but I'm a broke college student, and I like to spend my bourbon budget on bourbon, not more glasses . So, after doing some searching, I've found 2 different glasses that I like quite a bit, and are quite inexpensive and attainable.

The first were small snifters I found at Crate and Barrel, in the $5 each range.

I like these quite a bit, they're very comfortable to drink out of and make a huge difference. In fact, out of sheer boredom one day I drank a Cherry Coke out of one of them. Finishing it out of the can, in comparison it tasted bland and stale.

My newer find is in the picture below. I found these at Cost Plus World Market for $2 each. Nice thick glass, so I don't have to worry about breaking them as easily, and I like the look. They're just as easy to drink out of as the Crate and Barrel ones, unless you like to cup the glass in your hand and to that "swril the cognac" thing. I find the stem is a little too thick to be comfortable in that case. I don't have any idea how these affect taste relative to the other ones, but I do enjoy drinking out of them too.

Steve

[aaron]

Good recommendations, and I can definitely sympathize with the whole broke college student thing--it certainly makes enjoying this hobby (to its fullest, anyway) much more difficult.

And though I am in the same boat (income-wise) as you, I think I might just end up sinking the extra bucks into some bonafide Reidel bourbon glasses. Sure, they cost a bit more, but I'm of the mindset that the higher initial investment will pay off in the long run. If you take good care of them, they could last forever. I use cognac snifters myself right now when enjoying my higher-end bourbons, but I'm excited to see (or taste, rather ) the difference that the Reidel glasses make.

My two cents, anyway...

[boone]

I gave some good friends a tour, not long ago. We went upstairs, for a tasting.
This is the glass that Heaven Hill gave us, for the tasting.

Bettye Jo

[Paradox]

I always thought it was BS that a glass could make a difference in ones perception of a frequently consumed pour... But that all changed once I bought a set of the Riedel Bourbon Glasses. They are great glasses that are manufactured well, improve both nose and taste perceptions as well as being a decent value. And if one is even more worried about their price, chekc eBay. There was a guy not too long ago selling sets of 4 that frequently ended up selling for approx $12 plus shipping which I think was a modest $5-6. Not bad for about 5 bucks a glass.

[bobbyc]

Let's see, Rittenhouse 10 year Bottled in Bond Rye and Evan Williams Single Barrel 1994 from Barrel number 1. ( After some is given to the press and other functions , the remainder is retained for Max. He has what is left from the first barrel of all EWSB years. I think they keep the barrel too.)
That was a good day!

[tlsmothers]

Great pics. I like the Crate and Barrel look. I have to say I'm won over with the Riedel ones myself. However, they even cost me wholesale $5 a glass since I only buy a case of 12 at a time.

The snifter shape usually concentrates the alcohol too much for my liking. The Riedel shape seems to really highlight more subtle aromas that I don't get in a rocks or snifter.

[gr8erdane]

I'm still trying to figure out how a broke college student comes up with two bottles of BMH and one of Hirsch. I was lucky to be able to buy a half pint of 905 bourbon when I was in college.

[SteveZZZ]

I budget the cost of going to a bar one night a week, then go to the liquor store instead. Works out quite well, I have a great selection, and I never have to worry about DUI's. Even letting my friends drink for free, it's much cheaper than going out.

Steve

[gr8erdane]

Steve, you're lucky. When I went to college the emphasis was on quantity rather than quality. But then way back then, University of Missouri was disqualified from Rolling Stone Magazine's top party colleges list because drinking there was considered a pasttime (I believe that was their article said) and that students there were considered professionals. We drank anything we could get our hands on and mostly the cheapest we could find. The only way a bottle lasted more than one night was if you passed out and they couldn't pry it out of your hands. I cringe to think of what damage that crowd would have done to my current bunker. Of course those guys would have made Milwaukees Best and Pappy Van Winkle boilermakers

[Veevee]

I think the tasting glass being worth that much seems a little silly-except I don't think riedel's bourbon glass would do anything better than those shown here in the pix by the broke college student.
Unless they are shatterproof, then that would be a real distinction.
Of course if the point is just to have nice glasses to offer to your Pops when sharing bourbon, or for when other company is around, then I guess it's just normal.
My big problem, is that I saw on wineenthusiast.com or a similar site that has a newsstand magazine also, the reidel glasses were more than $100.00 a PIECE. !!!
I could be wrong, and maybe that was for a "typical" number of glasses in a set, but I don't think so.

My 2 centavos