The Ultimate Eau de Vie Glasses Guide II
It’s been a while since I tried different glasses for eau de vies. So, here is an update on which glass works for which fruit spirit. I tried eighteen different glasses with six different eau de vies. All in all, there were some surprises, but also some obvious discoveries.
The Amber Glass G120 marks the start of this glass review. The glasses are handmade in Poland. The G120 has a capacity of 200 ml and was inspired by the classic port wine glass. Although the glass is suggested for light, fruity and floral whiskies, it in my opinion works best with overproof eau de vies and wild fruit eau de vies. The glass allows for a lot of air contact and the horizontal lines support the aroma development.
Inspired by the ‘Copa’ glass
Next, the Amber Glass G202 looks similar to the traditional ‘Copa’ glass. It comes with a glass lid, to keep in volatile flavours. Furthermore, I went with the limited ‘blind tasting’ version which is hand painted in grey. Due to its rounded shape, the glass works with a lot of different eau de vie. Yet, I especially liked sipping barrel aged and apple eau die vies from it. Obviously, in a normal ‘setting’ you would go for the clear version.
Almost your average eau de vie glass
The Amber Glass G301 was inspired by the classic ‘grappa ‘ glass. This also means that it shares similar characteristics. I went for the amber stem, which of course did not influence the taste. First off, it works especially well with delicate eau de vies, e.g. berry eau de vies. Second, I also enjoyed drinking apricot eau de vies in it.
Edgy and grey
The G502 from Amber Glass somehow reminds me of a more ‘edgy’ Glencairn glass. The edges supposedly support the flavours of peated whiskies. Nevertheless, the glass also worked with barrel aged eau de vies and overproof eau de vies. As long as you do not sip a too delicate fruit brandy, you can also use the G502 as an universal glass. In again chose the ‘blind tasting’ version.
Fishbowl style
There is a trend towards the ‘fishbowl’ style glass for Single Malts as well as for rum. Following that trend Amber Glass’s G601 comes with a horizontally lined glass with an amber stem. The glass worked well with apple and pear eau de vies and especially citrus spirits. However, the eau de vie should not have a high alcohol content. Otherwise, the glass will overpronounce the alcoholic notes.
The original fishbowl
The 1920s Blender’s Glass from Elixir Distillers may just be the one original ‘fishbowl’ style glass. As the name suggests, glass supposedly was popular in the 1920s amongst whisky blenders. When sipping eau de vies from it, especially berry and citrus eau de vies benefit from the shape of the glass. However, also apple and barrel aged eau de vies taste great from it.
Exclusive sherry glass
I do love my artesian, handblown glasses from Lobmeyr. So, I was very excited to try their No. 276 series sherry glass. The shape makes it perfect for various styles of fruit brandies. However, I did especially enjoy the barrel aged apple eau de vie as well as the overproof pear eau de vie from it.
Very small champagne glass
Next, I also tried the Champagne Glass C from the same series by Lobmeyr. I do love the look and feel of this champagne glass with its short stem. It performed especially well with apricot, pear and apple eau de vies. Which also means that it works for overproof eau de vies as well as barrel aged ones.
Classic, but luxurious Schnaps glass
The ‘Wiener Gemischter Satz’ ‘Stopper’ resembles best a traditional glass for drinking eua de vies. Shaped more for convenience than for analysing every aspect of the spirit. Yet, it worked surprisingly well for apricot and plum eau de vies.
Waisted whisky glass
The Nude ‘Islands Tasting Glass Tall’ is handmade and only weighs 80 g. Additionally, I notice the strongly tailored body with the relatively big opening at the top. This almost resembles a typical grappa glass. Yet, contrary to what I would have thought, the glass works best with apple, pear and cherry eau de vies. Especially overproof fruit spirits shine in this glass. This is something I also noticed with other grappa glasses that they can dial down the ‘sharper’ notes and pronounce others.
A looong neck
The Zwiesel Alsace nother ‘typical’ eau de vie glass. As the name suggests the glass was designed for eau de vies, but also grappe and vodka. I can confirm that the glass really works for all sorts of eau de vies. However, I especially enjoyed it with the overproof eau de vies. I guess the glass also works great for wild fruit spirits.
A biiig glass
Another whisky glass in the tasting. The Schott Zwiesel Nosing Tumbler Special is another glass similar to the Glencairn glass. The glass belongs to the Bar Special series. To make things short, the glass is way too big for eau de vies. The only real application for it are barrel aged eau de vies. Yet, it overpronounces the barrel notes in the spirit.
Modern version of the ‘Edelbrand’ glass
The Spiegelau Definition Digistif glass is a combination of two previous Spiegelau glass series. Spiegelau combines the Willsberger and Hybrid series with a new production technology. All in all, the glass works best with delicate eau de vies. I especially enjoyed the apricot and strawberry eau de vies from the glass.
A bigger version of my standard glass
I use the Spiegelau Snifter / Authentis glass for trying all spirits. Yet, there also exists a bigger version, the Premium Snifter. The glass holds 280 ml compared to the 170 ml of the Authentis. Probably unsurprisingly for a glass designed for whisky, it works best with barrel aged or overproof eau de vies. Too delicate spirits tend to get a bit lost in the big glass.
American whiskey glass
Since it was standing around anyway, I also tried the Spiegelau Whisky Single Barrel Bourbon. With its volume of 380 ml it is quite big and also has a large diameter which only slightly gets smaller at the top. Yet, the glass did work with barrel aged and overproof eau de vies. Unsurprisingly, it did highlight the barrel notes in the Faude Apple eau de vie. Yet, it also dialed down the alcohol.
A glass especially for Irish whiskies
The Túath Irish Whiskey Glass was especially designed for those lighter whiskies. On top of that, it is the only glass I have which is designed to be placed on its side. As with a lot of whisky glasses, the Túath also enhanced the barrel notes in the apple barrel aged eau de vie. However, it also worked well with the Hiebel Williams Strong. So, it can handle slightly stronger spirits. However, there are better glasses out there for delicate eau de vies like apricot and strawberry fruit brandies.
Weird shape, but it works
I did want to try the Zieher glasses for quite some time. They only make glasses according to the taste of the wine, not for the style or grape variety. So, the ‘Fresh’ glass is made for crisp wines. However, when it comes to eau de vies, basically the opposite is the case. Since the ‘Fresh’ glass has a larger volume it works best for barrel aged or overproof eau de vies.
Weird shape II
Zieher came up with the ‘Rich’ glass for sweet and fortified wines respectively. Again, contrary to the name, the glass worked very well with the more delicate eau de vies like apricot. Yet, apple and pear eau de vies also tasted great from it.
Conclusion
As always, it is a pleasure to see how the different glasses affect the flavour and the taste. Yet, you can deduce a lot of the taste from the size and shape of the glass. Most of the times, bigger glasses are better suited for flavourfull eau de vies. Additionally, smaller diameters at the top like tulip, fishball or chimney shaped ones, tend to work better with delicate fruit spirits. Overproof eau de vies, I know there are not a lot of those out there, need more space and a bigger opening. Otherwise, you will mainly taste alcohol. When it comes to wild fruit spirits, or eau de vies with a lot of ester notes, things get more complicated. There you really have to choose a glass wisely.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. Some of the glasses provided by the manufacturers.
