Editor’s Note: This whisky accessory was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.
For many whisky-drinking individuals, the choice of glass you drink from if you want to enjoy a proper flavor profile is the tried and true Glencairn. The design of this drinking vessel is uniquely tailored for holding and presenting your whisky in a way that puts its best foot forward, ranging from how you can hold it to view the color to how you can sniff and sip from it to enjoy the complete tasting experience.
Like any king of the hill, such as the Glencairn, a range of other glasses have come to market in recent years seeking to take its title. One of the more recent of these heralds from a partnership between Smokehead, a whisky brand owned by Ian Macleod Distillers that uses sourced Scotch from Islay, and glassblower Elliot Walker, known for being the season 2 winner of the hit Netflix show ‘Blown Away.” Walker was tasked by Smokehead “to reimagine the classic whisky glass.”
The new creation, known as Smoke Mask, is handblown from black glass and crafted in such a way as to cover one’s nose and most of the mouth as you drink. The result is said to deliver a heightened experience with the aromatics and taste at the same time. The bespoke glass is finished with a twisted silver base and gold skull seal.
“It’s a real honor to partner with Smokehead on this creative project,” said Walker of his creation, “as a brand who is leading the charge on innovation within the whisky category and is unafraid of breaking boundaries, just like I am with my sculptures. I’m a huge fan of Smokehead and so it’s an exciting challenge to create a bespoke item that matches the brand’s rebellious and innovative nature – not only should it make a bold statement but it needs to be functional and enhance the drinking experience.”
To properly gauge whether this glass is up to beating the Glencairn, I’m testing the two side by side, using Smokehead’s Tequila Cask Terminado, a peated single malt finished in tequila casks.
Trying the Glencairn first, I find the glass handling to be something I’m accustomed to, having sipped many whiskies from this design. The bottom is easy to hold, it is lightweight and I’m free to smell from a range of positions, be it to the side or directly within. Sipping is easy and clean.
Smoke Mask, meanwhile, frankly feels clumsy to handle. While I get the concept the maker is trying to convey with this design, it feels somewhat bulky in my hand. I’m not a huge fan of stuffing my nose into the upper portion of the glass for what feels like just one smelling angle. I’m also not enjoying drinking from what feels like a glass you drink punch from.
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Regarding aromatics, Smoke Mask makes the smell lighter and more ethereal. At the same time, the Glencairn delivers more of what I feel is a traditional, concentrated experience, letting me pluck out more individual notes. It depends on what you’re going for, but overall, I prefer the Glencairn over this.
In conclusion, I can’t recommend Smoke Mask. It is a nice novelty, and I appreciate the design aspects of it, but the overall way it requires to be used distracts too much from enjoying tasting from it. Should you decide you want the Smoke Mask, it is set to become available later this year in the United States. Overseas it has been pricing at £120.
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