Glass hunt and 2 whiskies
Whiskyrific has been on a bit of a whisky glass hunt this weekend.
You see I am hosting a whisky tasting for some friends next weekend, and I simply do not have enough glencairns to go round.
Glencairns, as you know, are sort of regarded as a benchmark glass for use with whisky, and commonly employed in competitions and trade shows, etc.
Googling and asking about a bit, I discovered that there is no glencairn supplier in Singapore, though they are available for purchase at the World of Whisky website, and by walking into Quiach Bar. Sadly I also discovered that they’re rather dear here, close to 20SGD per glass. Having a large number of glencairns was simply not cost effective.
The other consideration moving me away from glencairns for such tasting sessions is that glencairns seem to need a bit of volume of whisky in them to present fairly – at least this is true for my nose. And since I am planning on something in the region of 8 different whiskies, I might have my guests leaving rather intoxicated, which of course we cannot have.
So I began asking round. Big thank you to all friends who pointed me in various directions and I explored each of those options in turn. And the suggestions, excellent whisky glasses they may be, did not meet the ‘cheap and good’ standard suitable for the high risk, low usage characteristics of the occasional tasting group.
Then I thought of professional F&B suppliers, and the name Sia Huat ( 11 Temple Street) popped up – they’ve got nearly everything one could need for an industrial kitchen setup, so why not glasses?
So without much expectations, off I went to Sia Huat in the hopes of coming across something suitable. And so I did!
(From left to right, Chef & Sommelier ‘Open up’ spirits glass, Glencairn nosing copita, Glencairn whisky glass)
The Chef & Sommelier spirits glass was not specifically designed for whisky, but in terms of proportion (not too large), shape (tulip, with a small opening to concentrate the nose), and price (yes, on discount, 1/3 of retail price!). It seemed like a good candidate. So I bravely bought 12 for less than 80 SGD. Foolhardy yes.
A word about the middle glass, the glencairn nosing copita. This is my usual whisky glass. It is fairly small, holding 115ml, and excellent for 30ml and 20ml drams alike. The C&S spirits glass holds 110ml, though it is shorter but presents a similar sized opening for nosing.
That night, I tested the copita against the C&S spirits glass on 4 whiskies, a lowlander, bourbon speyside, cask strength speyside, and peated islay. I am happy to say that on all counts, the C&S glass presented a nose very similar to the copita. If anything the nose was a bit hotter due to its shorter height. But it did a splendid job for all the tested whiskies in small amounts (10ml).
Satisfied, I called the hunt complete and a success. My guests will be using these next week.
Oh and I also tried 2 whiskies at a friends place today, no notes, just impressions.
Glenrothes ‘Robur Reserve‘ – Nutty and oily, heavily so, typically sherried but rich. Not very well integrated yet. Hot, bold, and simple on the palette showing its youth. This is a NAS whisky.
Glenfiddich 18 yo OB – 3 steps up, complex nose, lightly spiced, quite tantalizing with various fruit tones alternating with bracing wood notes. Wet chocolate. Much better than the 12 but not a heavy whisky by any count. Very drinkable.
3 comments on “Glass hunt and 2 whiskies”
Leave a Reply
Whiskyrific RSS
- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
- Talisker 25 yo ‘Bottle TA25 3987’ 45.8% ~ bottle code L0296CM004 bottled 2020 vs Ledaig 11 yo 2008 / 2019 The Swan Song & 1BRD #700104 58.7%
whiskyrific 
I’m swinging by Singapore early December and hope Sia Huat still has those glasses! Much cheaper than India where it is Rs 6,600 for 6 aka SGD 140!
I hope they still carry it – I think it was a seasonal thing where they just take on stock and clear as the case may be, but no harm trying. If you’re headed to Singapore, you’re in for a treat because we’ve got some very good whisky bars here!
I know! Therein lies a certain ‘danger’… up for a bit of a prowl on Saturday, 5 Dec? Hoping to have a friend join straight off his flight from Australia… 🙂