Whiskey glasses

For whisky neat, most drinkers end up at 30 to 35 cl. You pour three to four centilitres, which leaves plenty of head space and lets the vapour gather above the liquid. Choose smaller, such as a tumbler of 20 or 24 cl, and the glass stands relatively fuller and you drink faster. If you want to work with a large clear ice ball, measure along: a ball of five centimetres only fits comfortably from about 35 cl.

After that, weight in the base is the most important choice. A heavy base keeps the glass where you put it, and with whisky that is more welcome than with any other drink. Onis and Arcoroc make thick-walled tumblers that stand up to bar work, RCR supplies comparable shapes in cut crystal that feels lighter and sparkles more, and Mammoet sits in between at a keener price. If you are after a real tasting glass with a narrow tulip shape, the tumblers are not where to look.

Pour whisky neat at room temperature and let it sit for two minutes before smelling it. Keep your nose slightly to the side of the rim rather than directly over the glass, and exhale through your mouth; otherwise, the alcohol will overpower everything beneath it. A few drops of water ease the tension and release aromas you could not smell before; that is not dilution but technique.

If you want ice, use one large cube instead of four small ones, because a large cube has proportionally less surface area and therefore melts noticeably more slowly. Small cubes dilute your dram within a few minutes. The same tumbler is standard for cocktails. A Old Fashioned is stirred in the glass itself and strained over fresh ice, while a Whiskey Sour is shaken hard and then poured out so the foam layer on top remains intact.

Whisky glasses rarely get truly dirty, but they do go dull quickly. Fragrances from washing-up liquid linger in the glass, and with a strong spirit you taste that immediately. So rinse generously with clean water, and for a tasting glass you use for nosing, treat it with hot water alone and no soap.

Cut crystal and thick-walled hospitality glass need different care. Lead-free crystal glass can go in the dishwasher on a short glassware programme, but goes matt from too much rinse aid and from hard water. Tempered glass takes more, but tolerates no damage to the rim. Dry both afterwards with a lint-free cloth while the glass is still lukewarm: that leaves no limescale streaks and saves you polishing.

If you are looking for a different shape, there are plenty of options beyond this page. The heavy low glasses with thick bases are listed separately under the old-fashioned glasses, while the wider tumbler glasses are also intended for water and soft drinks. For a tasting, the narrow tasting glasses are more suitable than a tumbler. If you want to decant the bottle, look under whiskey decanters or decanters. And for stirring, measuring, and straining a cocktail, you will find the appropriate tools under bar spoons, which also includes jiggers and mixing glasses.