Well, to put it simply… Yes.
But of course it’s more complicated than that…
Since the dawn of whiskey in the 13th century, distillers and imbibers have used various different drinking vessels whilst enjoying their drams.
In the earliest recorded days, the cup used to drink whiskey was called the “quaich“, pronounced, “kway-k” as in “earth – quake”. It comes from a Gaelic word which simply means “cup”.
It is an odd looking drinking vessel by today’s glass standards. In fact, it wasn’t made of glass at all. It was made of wood and it bore more resemblance to a bowl than to a cup.
A “Quiachfull” was a cup-full of whiskey commonly served at the beginning and end of social events.
Today you may still see a quiach or two in Irish, Scottish and English events, but often times they are made of silver or stainless steel rather than the original wood.
This gradual change from wood to silver eventually changed into glass around the 19th century and the shape also changed to that of a modern cup. This happened for various reasons… not least of which was the reduced cost of production and wider market appeal.
Since then, glassblowers have been crafting different styles of glassware which have been designed to maximize the drinking experience.
There are four major components of a tasting experience:
Appearance – how the whisky “looks” including color, viscosity, and other factors…
Nose – how the whisky “smells”
Palate – how the whisky “tastes” particularly pre-swallow
Finish – how the whisky “remains” and “hangs” on the palate and nasal sensors several seconds after the swallow.
Each glass that has gained traction throughout the industry excels in one or more of those areas over another glass.
There are many types of glasses: rocks glasses, highball glasses, copitas, speys and stolzles…
You name it.
…but one glass has prevailed over all of the rest.
The Glencairn.
The Glencairn glass has prevailed as the most famous whisky glass in existence over the last several decades. I myself began drinking whiskey out of these glasses and didn’t notice just how important the glass was until I started drinking whiskey from other forsaken less than ideal glassware.
I will freely admit, that throughout my travels and studies, I have encountered at least a dozen other glasses that are REALLY good at either nosing or tasting the whiskey…some even better than a Glencairn…
But I still have not found a glass that is better at ALL aspects of whiskey. I don’t just mean the tasting; there are psychosocial aspects of holding a glass throughout the evening that matter too.
For example, although a tasting stolzle or even a gaffa may be superior for nosing or swirling the whisky, they can sometimes be quite uncomfortable to hold and it always feels like you are going to break them.
Certain glasses also hold barely enough whiskey at the proper level to be considered as a daily drinking glass.
There are other glasses too which do this or that… either equal to or perhaps better than the Glencairn.
But none of them are as well rounded and suitable for both professional tasting and casual sipping like the OG (Original Glass).
With that said, there are times when a Glencairn is also overkill.
When at a barbecue with friends and family or a having a quick dram of a whiskey that you’ve already had a million times or at a dive bar…. it is really unnecessary to go demanding or even whipping out your own Glencairn (seriously, I’ve done it….)
In times like those, the right whiskey glass is the one that is filled with whiskey.
So does your glass matter? The answer is objectively, yes.
…But which one you should choose truly depends on the situation.
Cheers.
