

A Decanter Can Replace Ugly or Faulty Bottles In the same way that a particular tea setup or a meaningful champagne toast can heighten your experience, pouring your whiskey from a pretty vessel can make it feel all the more special. It’s no secret that we humans love our little traditions and rituals, especially when it comes to food and drinks. Whiskey decanters aren’t really necessary, but if you like the way they look, that should be reason enough alone to decant your whiskey. Or better yet, I’ll have an excuse to give it a healthy swirl around the glass so I can look extra cool while pondering the meaning of life - or watching superhero movies - with my friends.) I tend to believe that pouring it into the glass releases enough aroma. (Note: some people swear decanting whiskey makes a difference in the aromatics of the spirit, but there isn’t really any conclusive evidence either way. This is good and bad since you really won’t be able to “aerate” your whiskey to mellow out the flavors the way you can with wine (if that’s what you’re looking for), but your whiskey is also unlikely to become oxidized and take on off-flavors. Whiskey has a pretty high alcohol content, so it’s unlikely that the flavors will transform much in the bottle. Unlike wine, decanting whiskey isn’t really going to change the way it tastes. Pouring your whiskey into a decanter won’t really change its flavor much, so why would you decant whiskey? The Short Answer is Because it Looks Cool. It doesn’t age in the bottle like wine, so an 18 yr single malt Scotch will always be an 18 yr single malt Scotch, regardless of how long it’s been sitting on your shelf. Whiskey, on the other hand, is ready to drink when it’s bottled. It helps to aerate the wine, softening tannins and mellowing flavors, and it helps to remove sediment that can occur in older or natural wines. There are plenty of reasons why you might want to decant wine. It’s a beautiful cut-crystal piece that was easy to pour from and felt great in my hand. Of the decanters that I tried, I liked the Irish Cut Whiskey Decanter from Viski the best. Avoid vintage or lead crystal, as they can result in lead leaching into your whiskey (yes, really!) Beyond that, the most important thing is whether you like the decanter’s style, so choose something that you think looks good! When shopping for a whiskey decanter, look for a sturdy vessel with a strong seal.
WHISKEY DECANTER PURPOSE HOW TO
That’s why I put together this guide on how to find the best whiskey decanter. They elevate any home bar and make fantastic gifts, but with so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to figure out what’s right for you. While whiskey decanters are still something of a luxury item, they’re more accessible (and affordable) than ever. I spent more than a decade working in bars and have amassed quite a home bar over the years, and I must say, drinking your whiskey out of a pretty crystal bottle sure beats pouring it from a big brown jug with three large black Xs on it. So yes, decanters were for the wealthy, but they were (and still are) largely kept at home. The wealthy would transport and store their whiskey in pretty bottles. The tavern would keep their whiskey in big barrels, and if you wanted to bring some home with you, you needed a vessel to transport it in. Up until the late 1800s when bottling became prevalent, if you wanted whiskey, you had to get it from a wholesaler, like a store or a tavern.

It’s a scene that’s become so ubiquitous that it’s one of the first things most of us think of when we think of whiskey decanters, but have whiskey decanters always been seemingly the exclusive province of wealthy executives?ĭrinking on the job and potential workplace misogyny aside, the answer is yes and no. An important Don Draper/Jack Donaghy-looking businessman walks to a sideboard in his office and pours himself a glass of brown spirits from a crystal bottle.
