There’s no denying that good things come in pairs. The list of dynamic duos is endless. To name a few, there’s peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, Batman and Robin, and SpongeBob Square Pants and Patrick Star. What all of these dynamic duos have in common is that they all elevate one another. It all comes down to teamwork.
Like these dynamic duos, many spirits and liquors pair perfectly with the proper glassware. It would be a disservice to drink champagne out of a water bottle. Likewise, it’s wrong to drink whiskey out of the incorrect glass.
While the options for whiskey dynamic duos feel endless, some explicit pairings are worth noting. Of course, there’s whiskey and sour, along with Old and Fashioned. But do you know what glasses help to bring these dynamic duos to their full fulfillment? Read on to learn more with Saucey.
Characteristics of the best whiskey glasses
First things first: we must understand what characteristics are important to these dynamic duos. Dynamic duos always seem to be presentable and have it together – and your spirit dynamic duos should be no exception to this. There are three things to focus on when it comes to the characteristics of the best whiskey glasses: appearance, drinkability, and nosing.
Appearance
While many people think that appearance is only a superficial characteristic, it actually plays a large role in whiskey glasses. The appearance of a whiskey glass is important to the consumer’s overall experience. It all comes down to the weight, girth, and grip of the glass – all of which impact a consumer’s enjoyment of their drink.
Picture this: you see someone super sophisticated enjoying a nice glass of whiskey in, wait for it, a red solo cup. Not as appealing, right? Now picture this, that sophisticated person dressed to the nines enjoying a nice glass of whiskey on the rocks in a lowball glass. Ahh, that’s better.
Drinkability
You definitely don’t want to take a sip of your drink and have to tilt your glass so much that it smacks your nose (or maybe you do. Who are we to judge?). Either way, everyone has their preferences when it comes to the drinkability of their spirit.
The drinkability of the glass also plays a fundamental role when it comes to pairing your whiskey cocktail with the correct glass. Drinkability depends on factors like base weight, the wall slope angle of the glass, and the diameter of the brim. The diameter of the brim also impacts nosing, but we’ll get into that next.
Nosing
You may or may not be familiar with ‘nosing.’ Nosing is the smell and aroma of the drink when it is in its glassware. This characteristic is most definitely not superficial.
All you really need to know is two things. The narrower the mouth of the glass, the stronger the aroma will be. That means that when you’re smelling your whiskey to get the fill experience, the scent will really pack a punch. On the contrary, a wider bowl allows the drink to be more breathable. This mellows the whiskey’s overall mouthfeel.
Now that you understand a glasses appearance, drinkability, and nosing, you’re ready to learn all about the best whiskey drinks and the glassware that accompanies them – because who doesn’t love a great dynamic duo?
Whiskey Sour And Whiskey Ginger: highball glass
A highball glass is perfect for whiskey cocktails on ice. But why?
In terms of appearance, it is called a highball glass for a reason. These glasses are tall. What’s great about a highball glass is its larger size, as it allows for more mixing and, therefore, more fun. Size-wise, these glasses are between 8 and 12 oz. A highball glass is generally heavier, just based on its size.
Now, onto drinkability and nosing. The thick base of a highball glass can act as a stabilizer. This is a huge advantage, as it prevents spillage and, therefore, prevents wardrobe malfunctions and disasters.
The rim of the glass is not small, but it is also not as wide as it could be. It can provide a nice balance between the aromas given off by a narrower mouth and the mellower mouthfeel of the whiskey at the same time.
When it comes to picking a drink to put into a highball glass, we’ve got a few recommendations. A great classic drink typically served in a highball glass is a whiskey sour. This drink is always perfectly chilled and served on ice.
Another recommendation of ours is creating whiskey ginger. Whiskey ginger is refreshing and highly drinkable, similar to a whiskey sour. The best part is this cocktail is fairly low maintenance, so you don’t have to feel bad about ordering it out at the bar.
Old Fashioned: tumbler/lowball glass
Some say that a lowball/tumbler glass is a shorter version of a highball glass. The lowball glass is debatably the most common of all whiskey glasses, so chances are you’ve seen it before.
Visually, these glasses are extremely appealing—they have a classic design and are often made of luxury materials like crystal. A lowball glass ranges between 7 and 12 oz in terms of capacity. These glasses also allow for visual creativity and variety, as there is room for mixing and ice.
A lowball glass is not ideal for nosing due to its wide rim. However, it has a high sip volume, which means that it’s got pretty great drinkability. The heavyweight base and straight sides also minimize the spill factor and make for the ultimate whiskey drinking experience.
We would recommend trying this Old Fashioned Recipe to start things off with a classic so that you have the ultimate aesthetic.
Shots: shooter and cordial glasses
Keeping things fun and youthful is our next set of glasses, which are shooter and cordial glasses. Both of these are considered shot glasses that hold a smaller amount of the spirit than other glasses. For this reason, these glasses don’t allow for ice to be included, or mixers for that matter.
A shooter is a variation of a shot glass. Thanks to these bad boys, double shots or layered shots are possible. In terms of appearance, these will definitely remind you of a more youthful time in your life. These glasses allow for easy drinkability, although they don’t help much with nosing.
Next up is the cordial glass, which has somewhat of a tulip shape. The cordial glass is more formal in appearance than a shot glass. It also allows for easy drinkability and is a great way for guests to sip on a small serving of whiskey. The cordial glass has a narrower rim in terms of nosing, so you get a lot in terms of aroma.
It’s hard to recommend a specific mixed drink for these glasses, as there isn’t exactly room for a mixer. For this reason, we would recommend Wild Turkey’s American Honey as the slightly sweeter taste makes it perfect for a shooter and cordial glasses.
The takeaway
We could go on and on about all of the great pairings of whiskeys and their glasses. That said, we’re strong believers that practice makes perfect, so we recommend trying these things out for yourself. And let us help you make that easier.
Saucey can deliver all of the spirits you need when experimenting with what glass goes best with your favorite drink. With delivery between 8 am and 2 am, you can practically experiment at all hours of the day. Maybe you’re super busy at work this week and want to plan to experiment this weekend. We’ve got your back, as we also have 2-day shipping and allow for scheduled deliveries.
Who knows, maybe the next dynamic duo is you and one of these cocktails in its perfect glass. There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to try it for yourself. If you are looking for more whiskey cocktails that you can make to fit all the glasses in your cupboard, check out these 8 Whiskey Cocktails that are sure to tickle your fancy.
Maybe you’ll be the next half of the most iconic dynamic duo out there. Maybe your name will go down in history, and so will that kick-ass whiskey sour that you’ve made. Don’t worry; we don’t steal all the credit.
