how do you wash your glasses?

[fogfrog]

I was stunned by the difference in taste between Old Fitz 1849 and Four Roses Yellow Label..... It made me realize you need a fresh glass for each bourbon! now as I sit before the tube... I have a glass of Britta Filtered water and I douched out my whiskey glass and drank it down. I reckon that purified my glass.... did I just invent something? before I was using new glasses. Now I am washing the glass out with drinking water to get it ready for the next pour. Granted, I normally don't have more than two, but for some reason today demands more.... am curious how you all deal with glasses when sampling a variety of bourbons......?

[ILLfarmboy]

Though I have on occasion, I generally don't sample different bourbons at the same time. When I do, I always prepare the glass the same way I would when drinking a single pour from a single bottle. I wash the glass with scalding hot water and hand dry with a clean paper towel. I wash the glass beforehand because I want to avoid any aromas from the air in my cabinet. The cabinets are old but they still contain a slight wood varnish smell. when I am done with the glass I wash with scalding hot water again. Sometimes If I have left a glass out over night and it has that red/brown stain in the bottom, I use a bit of Palmolive and follow up with a more than adequate rinse and hand dry.

[NickAtMartinis]

how do you wash your glasses?

Now I am washing the glass out with drinking water to get it ready for the next pour. Granted, I normally don't have more than two, but for some reason today demands more.... am curious how you all deal with glasses when sampling a variety of bourbons......?

Piss and vinegar work best for me.


Seriously though, between pours I drink a glass of water from the same glass I'm drinking bourbon. Once I'm finished drinking my water, I fill that very same glass with my next bourbon choice. Works fine for me.

Also, we use the dishwasher for cleaning out glasses. Usually, before I drink out of a dish-washered glass, I give it a rinse.

Mark

[TNbourbon]

...between pours I drink a glass of water from the same glass I'm drinking bourbon. Once I'm finished drinking my water, I fill that very same glass with my next bourbon choice. Works fine for me.

Also, we use the dishwasher for cleaning out glasses. Usually, before I drink out of a dish-washered glass, I give it a rinse.

Mark

This is a good routine. Doesn't hurt, either, if, occasionally, you hand-wash some in the sink, using a solution of 10:1, or so, water:chlorine bleach. Rinse thoroughly.

[NickAtMartinis]

This is a good routine. Doesn't hurt, either, if, occasionally, you hand-wash some in the sink, using a solution of 10:1, or so, water:chlorine bleach. Rinse thoroughly.

Sound idea. I'll will give it a try.

By the way, as much as I am OCD (I'm not joking, by the way), I don't have a certain pre-bourbon/glass prep routine I go through. For example, tonight, instead of rinsing of my glass prior to my first pour, I grabbed my tulip glass from the cabinet and tossed some EC 12 in it. Go figure.

[spun_cookie]

i wash my glasses by hand and when I have multi pours, I always use my reidels... and make them neat to start, then add equal parts H2O in the same phase... always a clean glass to start for comparisons... if I am drinking... no rules.. I drink

[cigarnv]

As mentioned above I also find glasses pick up a varnish aroma when held in cabinets. As such I keep my boubon glasses next to my bourbons... outside of an enclosed cabinet.

I find a quick rinse with water between pours is all that it takes. When finished a quick hand wash with hot water works great.

[gothbat]

For the first pour I'll wash the glass with the hottest water I can stand and whatever detergent we have and then rinse it out really good, I probably spend more time rinsing than scrubbing because I don't want the smell of the soap to interfere, it never has. After that I usually just pour either filtered water or Perrier water in the glass, swish it around, drink, and then go pour another. That's what they do at Whiskyfest but there they use Fiji water, I figure the Perrier might work a little better because of the carbonation but there probably is no difference. Occasionally I'll go and wash it by hand between pours but normally I'm too lazy.

[jburlowski]

In the dishwasher with everything else.

Am I missing something or do some of the other folks here need to get real?

[jbaker]

In the dishwasher with everything else.

Am I missing something or do some of the other folks here need to get real?

John,
The reason most folks don't rely on the dishwasher is that detergents and soaps can leave a residue on your dishes. Although this won't harm you, it can add/interfere with aromas, flavors, and carbonation (in the case of beer or sparkling wine). The problem is especially bad if you use a "drying agent" in your dishwasher. Although the glasses sparkle nicely, there's a coating on them that will dissolve into your beverage. So although lavender is a pleasant smell in some red wines, lemon is nice in zippy whites, and vanilla is great in bourbon, it's best if it comes from the grapes/whisk(e)y and not the soap.