10 Best Whiskey Glasses to Enhance Your Drinking Experience


Some whiskey glasses bring out the flavors of your drink, others are great for adding ice or drinking cocktails, and some just add class and style to the whole experience. The best option is to have a few of each type, so here’s my list of the 10 best whiskey glasses that will enhance your drinking experience.

1. The Glencairn Whisky Glass

The Glencairn Whisky Glass is probably the most popular whiskey glass of all. Its wide bowl allows air to get to the whiskey so it can breathe and some of the alcohol can evaporate, making it less dominant, and its narrow neck is where the whiskey aromas can accumulate for you to fully appreciate the flavors of your whiskey.

It has a short base and stand for those who don’t like longer stems, but what really stands out is its simple elegance. There’s no denying, it’s a beautiful looking whiskey glass.

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2. The Norlan Whisky Glass

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The Norlan Whisky Glass does several things. First, it combines the look of a whiskey tumbler – which many prefer, with the function of a nosing glass that of necessity has a more unusual shape.

It does this by essentially putting a nosing glass inside a tumbler, so that it has two independent walls. An outer wall with the preferred design and an inner wall with the more functional alcohol reducing, aroma accumulating shape.

Additionally, the Norlan Whisky Glass improves the function of nosing glasses in two ways. The first is by adding fins or protrusions at the bottom of the glass. This creates a wave shape when you swirl your whiskey so that more air can get to it and more alcohol can evaporate. The second improved function is the slight widening of the rim of the inner glass, which diffuses the alcohol away from your face.

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3. The NEAT Whiskey Glass

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The NEAT Whiskey Glass is the official glass of 27 spirit competitions for over eight years and the choice of professional judges, so is one of the best whiskey glasses for bringing out the most in your whiskey. It has a very wide bowl and a narrow center, but it widens out again (more so than the Norlan Whisky Glass) at the top.

The increased wideness of the bowl lets more air get to the whiskey so more alcohol can evaporate, and the widening out at the top directs even more of the alcohol away from your face.

The irony is that the NEAT – Naturally Engineered Aroma Technology – whiskey glass is not quite the feat of natural engineering its name suggests but in fact the happy result of a glass blowing mistake.

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4. The Glencairn Copita

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This whisky glass is Glencairn’s take on the traditional sherry Copita. It’s used in blending labs and distilleries around the world and is favored by many Master Blenders.

Its bowl is not as wide as that of other nosing glasses, but it does have a much longer stem. This keeps your hand and any accompanying smells (even nice ones) from coming too close to your nose and interfering with your ability to smell the whiskey. It also allows you to more easily cradle the glass and warm up a cold whiskey, whose flavors can become muted at lower temperatures.

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5. The Taylor’d Milestones Whiskey Glass

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The Taylor’d Milestones Reserve Whiskey Glass is very similar in appearance to the Glencairn Whisky Glass, but it’s wider and shorter.

The extra width means there’s more room for air to get to the whiskey and more room for swirling, so more alcohol can evaporate. It also means that there may be enough room for adding ice.

Being shorter makes it a sturdier glass than the Glencairn, although the downside to that is it has a much less delicate appearance.

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6. The Riedel VINUM Whiskey Glass

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The Riedel VINUM Whiskey Glass looks like the tulip shaped Copita but it calls itself thistle shaped. Nonetheless, it still allows the alcohol to evaporate and the whiskey aromas to accumulate.

One feature it has that most other whiskey nosing glasses do not, is a slightly out-turned lip. This allows for a broader flow of whiskey onto the tongue – in other words, larger sips. Anyone who loves whiskey will immediately see the advantage in that.

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7. The Marquis by Waterford Markham Whiskey Glass

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The Marquis by Waterford Markham Whiskey Glass is a traditionally designed, diamond and wedge cut, classy and stylish tumbler. It’s made from lead free crystalline (which many people prefer over leaded crystal) but it still has an amazing clarity, so the golden color of the whiskey you place inside will look great.

The glass is large with a substantial heft and weight that makes it very comfortable to hold. It’s a sophisticated and luxurious looking glass that does justice to the high-quality drink it’s holding. 

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8. The Mofado Classic Whiskey Glass

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The Mofado Classic Whiskey Glass has a simple and clean looking design, with no embellishments other than an elegant triangular prism in its thick base.

It’s bigger than many other whiskey tumblers which gives it several advantages. First, a bigger glass means a wider opening so they can hold oversized ice cubes, which is useful as with less surface area than many small ones put together, they melt slower. Second, a bigger glass means that they can hold more of your favorite whiskey cocktail, and third it means that they have extra weight, which is great for those who like to hold big, hefty whiskey glasses.

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9. The KANARS Square Whiskey Glass

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The KANARS Square Whiskey Glass is on the smaller side being only able to hold 9fl oz, so if you want something larger you’d be better off with the Mofado. However, it does have a more modern design, which is that it’s square with clear glass at the top and a beautiful concertina effect in its base that makes its bottom thicker than other whiskey glasses.

This has the additional advantage / disadvantage (delete as appropriate) of looking like it contains more whiskey than it actually does.

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10. The Venero Whiskey Glass

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The Venero Whiskey Glass has thick walls and a heavy weighted base which insulates your drink from the heat coming from your hand or the surface the glass is resting on. That way you won’t warm your drink or cause any ice cubes you add to melt too quickly.

Also, there’s a unique twist to its design which is that it has a unique twist design.

You can buy the Venero Whiskey Glass on Amazon hereOpens in a new tab..

Josh Mitchell

I'm Josh Mitchell. I love whiskey and am working on increasing my whiskey tasting abilities and my collection.

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