Editor’s Observe: This whisky accent was supplied to us as a overview pattern by the celebration behind it. Per our editorial insurance policies, this by no means influenced the result of this overview.
For a lot of whisky-drinking people, the selection of glass you drink from if you wish to take pleasure in a correct taste profile is the tried and true Glencairn. The design of this consuming vessel is uniquely tailor-made for holding and presenting your whisky in a method that places its greatest foot ahead, starting from how one can maintain it to view the colour to how one can sniff and sip from it to benefit from the full tasting expertise.
Like every king of the hill, such because the Glencairn, a variety of different glasses have come to market lately searching for to take its title. One of many newer of those heralds from a partnership between Smokehead, a whisky model owned by Ian Macleod Distillers that makes use of sourced Scotch from Islay, and glassblower Elliot Walker, recognized for being the season 2 winner of the hit Netflix present ‘Blown Away.” Walker was tasked by Smokehead “to reimagine the basic whisky glass.”
The brand new creation, often called Smoke Mask, is handblown from black glass and crafted in such a method as to cowl one’s nostril and many of the mouth as you drink. The result’s mentioned to ship a heightened expertise with the aromatics and style on the identical time. The bespoke glass is completed with a twisted silver base and gold cranium seal.
“It’s an actual honor to accomplice with Smokehead on this artistic challenge,” mentioned Walker of his creation, “as a model who’s main the cost on innovation throughout the whisky class and is unafraid of breaking boundaries, identical to I’m with my sculptures. I’m an enormous fan of Smokehead and so it’s an thrilling problem to create a bespoke merchandise that matches the model’s rebellious and modern nature – not solely ought to it make a daring assertion but it surely must be purposeful and improve the consuming expertise.”
To correctly gauge whether or not this glass is as much as beating the Glencairn, I’m testing the 2 aspect by aspect, utilizing Smokehead’s Tequila Cask Terminado, a peated single malt completed in tequila casks.
Attempting the Glencairn first, I discover the glass dealing with to be one thing I’m accustomed to, having sipped many whiskies from this design. The underside is straightforward to carry, it’s light-weight and I’m free to odor from a variety of positions, be it to the aspect or instantly inside. Sipping is straightforward and clear.
Smoke Masks, in the meantime, frankly feels clumsy to deal with. Whereas I get the idea the maker is making an attempt to convey with this design, it feels considerably cumbersome in my hand. I’m not an enormous fan of stuffing my nostril into the higher portion of the glass for what seems like only one smelling angle. I’m additionally not having fun with consuming from what seems like a glass you drink punch from.
Relating to aromatics, Smoke Masks makes the odor lighter and extra ethereal. On the identical time, the Glencairn delivers extra of what I really feel is a conventional, concentrated expertise, letting me pluck out extra particular person notes. It depends upon what you’re going for, however total, I favor the Glencairn over this.
In conclusion, I can’t advocate Smoke Masks. It’s a good novelty, and I respect the design facets of it, however the total method it requires for use distracts an excessive amount of from having fun with tasting from it. Must you determine you need the Smoke Masks, it’s set to turn into obtainable later this 12 months in america. Abroad it has been pricing at £120.
