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Glassware Poll


Dave_in_Canada
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Glassware Poll  

148 members have voted

  1. 1. Glassware Poll

    • Blender's Nosing Glass
      58
    • Scotch whisky or brandy
      15
    • Riedel scotch
      12
    • Riedel Bourbon
      71
    • Brandy, Cognac
      38
    • Lowball glass
      73


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What is your favourite shape of glass for sampling your favourite (or a new) bourbon, NEAT or with a splash of water (ie. no ice, no mixer). Keep in mind... all-round performance. See below for photo, and additional comments welcome!

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I've got them all and overall my favorite is the Riedel Bourbon glass. It concentrates everything nice, fits my hand best for the way I like to 'hold' my bourbon, and the price is not too bad for a set of 4 Riedel glasses. Next to the Riedel Bourbon Glass, I find myself using the Blender's Nosing Glass second most often. It really concentrates the aromas beautifully. Third is the Riedel Scotch glass. I find it to be way overpriced in my opinion, and even though thin is in for tasting glasses, I'm just too damn scared of breaking it. lol.gif But honestly, I find the other glasses concentrate the aromas better and fit more nicely in my hand.

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Nice touch with the photes. It really enhances the poll.

I have limited my bourbon tasting to brandy snifters and lowball glasses. At home, I almost always use the snifter, though I occasionally use my small Getz musuem lowball glasses when I want to limit my intake. (A little bit of bourbon looks like alot more in a small Getz glass.)

I haven't been inclined to try one of the whisky/bourbon glasses because I've seen no clear consensus on whether they are better than snifters. (It doesn't help when I see PR photos of the master distillers using snifters.) Also, I've seen no clear consensus about which one is best among the whiskey/bourbon glasses. So, I've decided to keep it simple and stay with my snifter. But, I am open minded. Maybe this thread will show me something that I haven't thought of before.

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I do believe that whiskey should be taken from a low ball glass. fancy glasses to me are an affectation that take away from the notion that we a drinking just whiskey after all. To me there is something comforting in drinking from a simple glass.

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just whiskey

Sacrilege! Good thing we aren't a normal Internet discussion group or else you would be flamed. hot.giflol.gif

Seriously, we respect all opinions here. None of us are above the rest and we all like to hear other's opinions.

I think that the snifter does concentrate the nose of a good bourbon and enhances the flavor. I used to think like you until I tried a sample of very familiar (to me) Knob Creek in a snifter at Jim Beam in Clermont last summer. I was amazed at the difference and immediately went out and bought a set of snifters.

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I used to think like you until I tried a sample of very familiar (to me) Knob Creek in a snifter at Jim Beam in Clermont last summer. I was amazed at the difference and immediately went out and bought a set of snifters.

Same here. I thought it was all bull until I got my set of Riedel Bourbon glasses. From there I was a believer and went on to get a few others to try. Each one does have its own unique way of 'presenting' its contents...

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I voted for the lowball glass, but it's a rather special one, with a slightly tapered top, similar to the fancier shapes. It's the Rare Breed glass, which I didn't care for at first because it doesn't fit securely into my hand.

Nevertheless, it has become my go-to glass, whether I drink neat, with water or on the rocks.

Yours truly,

Dave Morefield

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For me personally, there is more variance in the different bourbons I try. There is alot more for me to learn with different bourbons than there is more me to learn about the nuances with different glasses with a single bourbon. So, the fancy glasses are in the future for me. Than again, one set of them may show up on my Christmas list. grin.gif

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#6 (lowball) for drinking. I take mine with a little ice for sipping bourbon. I still prefer #6 for nosing but have used #5. Snifters (5s) tend to concentrate the nose as you say but sometimes I feel that is a bit overpowering.

I do want to thank the distilleries for selling such nice glassware! It is those that I usually reach for.

And I always look for the gift sets around the holidays since Chuck pointed out that the glasses are normally thrown in for free!

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My vote was also for the Riedel Bourbon glass. toast.gif My second choice wasn't listed, the Pure Glass from Maison du whisky. yum.gif My next choice would have been the Glencairn blender's nosing glass. I really think snifters concentrate the aromas too much, but I sometimes use them at bars because they rarely have anything better. hot.gif

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I'm the same way....sampling the many bourbons that are still out there is challenging enough for me without adding the glassware variable into the equation. I'd like to purchase the Riedel glassware and the Blender's nosing glass at some future time but right now it's not a major concern.

I do have a couple of brandy snifters that I've occasionally used to sip bourbon but, like Greg, I find that the nose with these glasses is usually overpowering. I hope that when and if I purchase other nosing glasses like the Riedel that these glasses will provide better nosing than the snifters.

I almost always prefer to use my Jack Daniels lowball glass. I guess some here would consider that blasphemous, but I don't really care what's inscribed on the glass; just so long as it doesn't say something stupid like 'War Eagle' or 'AU'. grin.gif (Had to throw that in since college football is right around the corner!).

Anyway, the JD lowball has thick glass sides and is nicely weighted. I really enjoy it. Strangely, I did not get it at any of the shops in Lynchburg but at some gift shop in a mall several years back. I actually haven't found any lowball glasses of similar quality in Lynchburg.

-Troy

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I have used almost exclusively a cut-glass lowball glass. However just recently I bought a Riedel glass at "Party Source" in Bellevue,Ky (Cincinnati). it was really cheap...less than 4bucks I believe....have not really tried it yet with a real "quality" bourbon. I might add that the Spiegelau glasses that Jeff talks about are really cool to look at and I may someday spring some money for one of those.

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just so long as it doesn't say something stupid like 'War Eagle' or 'AU'.

At least you are against the right school. wink.gif

Tim

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None of those.

Usually, a cut crystal "on the rocks" glass. It is shorter and lighter than your lowball glass.

Often, a similar crystal highball glass.

Sometimes, any glass that is handy. drink.gif

Tim

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I use an Old Fashioned Glass to drink bourbon over ice, and a snifter to drink it neat.

TomC

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I picked up a blender's nosing glass at the whiskey expo in San Francisco this spring, and I've been using it a lot since. It's great for concentrating the nose, although yes, at times it can be almost too much, especially with the higher proofs. I also have a lowball glass that I use. I like to flip back and forth between the two...they're both a bit different, in the nose and in the hand, and I like the variety.

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So y'all know what Robby and me are talking about, addmission fee to the WhiskyExpo in SF this year also got you a glass clone of the GlenCairn style tasting glass.

The problem I have with that particular glass Robby is that it's quite heavy for it's size, and feels very awkward to me. That may seem like a strange thing to say, but the glass feels so "foreign" in my hand it actually detracts from the tasting experience.

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Yes, it is a heavy glass, but that doesn't seem to bother me. Actually, one of my favorite sets of lowball glasses I have are incredibly heavy...they could almost be used as weapons in the event of a bar fight. Maybe I just prefer the hefty glasses....helps build up my biceps as I'm downing the Van Winkle...

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I agree with Dave here shocked.gif The Rare Breed glass has become my favorite "drinking" glass. Tappered at the top to concentrate the nose and thick and heavy on the bottom. Got a set "free" with a christmas bottle of Rare Breed. Unfortunately I broke one and now they're nowhere to be found. I hope to see more of these around the holidays.

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in 2001 at the Buffalo Trace tasting, they had these glasses that were more or less port glasses but they had Buffalo Trace printed on them and 2 white lines going around the outside of the glass (reminded me of the lines on the glasses in the bars england that they fill to)... If you look at the small batch bourbon glass it is more or less a midget port glass.. same bowl with a nonexistant stem... in any case, they are nice glasses to drink from... Altho it is a very minor thing, i think that they make the bourbon look more pleasing than just a rocks glass, and sometimes it is nice to just enjoy small things like that after a crap day at work... drink.gif

They're a pain in the ass to clean (i hear dishwasher=bad for them) , but the ridel sommoliers port glasses are a nice thing sometimes for that 20 pappy or hirsch... I don't know if i would buy them just for bourbon, but they are a nice dual-use item...

-chris

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Here's a pic of my second favorite glass. It appears that way too many of Jeff's and Tom's vitamins made it into this pour, however.

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Yep, few would think of Fisher Scientific as a source for glassware, but Cliff has hit on one of my favorite pieces of of bourbon paraphernalia.

Beakers are good, but I find that the Erlenmeyer flask does a better job of concentrating vapor. lol.gif

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As I posted last night, the Griffin beaker is my SECOND FAVORITE glass and the best for bourbon on the rocks, or, more recently, Stagg on a Rock.

Jim stole my follow-up thunder, however, anticipating that my FAVORITE glass and the best for drinking neat would, indeed, be the Erlenmeyer flask.

At this moment you can get a set of twelve 125ml Erlenmeyers, with markings in four different colors for $18.48 here. They're great for blind tasting parties. Load up the <font color="red">Red</font> ones with Pappy, the <font color="blue">Blue</font> ones with Hirsch, the <font color="green">Green</font> ones with B'Day bourbon, and the <font color="yellow">Yellow</font> ones with Old Charter Proprietor's Reserver and taste away.

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Well that's great, Finally someone has the discipline to introduce a little scientific method here!! toast.gifdrinking.gif

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