GLASSWARE’S GOLDEN AGE

The words of 20th-century novelist and poet James Joyce, from the pages of his famous 1914 book Dubliners, elegantly capture what many whisky drinkers seek when they twist the cork from the bottle: “The light music of whiskey falling into a glass – an agreeable interlude…”

Here Joyce elegantly describes a moment in time, one to be savoured against the backdrop of modern life – an experience in the company of a dram.

But these words subtly nod toward another aspect of whisky drinking that, for most of whisky’s storied history, was of less concern. Joyce highlights the sound of the whisky falling into the glass, and in doing so draws attention not only to the act of pouring but also the sensory experience being offered by the glass in which our favourite whisky is being taken.

In the context of whisky’s 500-or-so years of history, the evolution of the whisky glass has been something of a slow process. Most whisky drinkers will be familiar with the origins (from the Gaelic , meaning ‘cup’) and, of course, the comforting tumbler that’s become the global standard in general-use glassware.