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 stand for two minutes before you smell it. Keep your nose beside the rim rather than over the glass, and breathe out through your mouth, otherwise the alcohol overwhelms everything underneath. A few drops of water break the tension and release aromas you could not smell before, and that is technique, not dilution.

If you want ice, take one large cube instead of four small ones, because a large cube has proportionally less surface and therefore melts noticeably more slowly. Small cubes water down your dram within minutes. For cocktails the same tumbler is the standard. An old fashioned is stirred in the glass itself and strained over fresh ice, and a whiskey sour is shaken hard and then poured out, so the layer of foam on top stays 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 want a different shape, there is plenty alongside this page. The heavy low glasses with a thick base sit separately among the old fashioned glasses, while the broader tumbler glasses are meant for water and soft drinks as well. For a tasting, the narrow tasting glasses suit better than a tumbler. If you want to pour the bottle over, look at the whisky decanters or at the decanters. And for stirring, measuring and straining a cocktail, you will find the tools among the bar spoons, which also include jiggers and mixing glasses.