I’ve been thinking about buying one of these Norlan glasses for some time, but always struggled with the price – £42 for two whisky glasses is a bit steep!  But I was buying some other glasses this week, the supplier has these on offer, and buying both together saved on a delivery charge so I treated myself to an early Christmas present!

I’ve had them a couple of weeks now, and have used them for 5-6 drams and to be honest I’m still not sure whether I like them or not?

The Good

• Whatever they might do to the liquid in the glass, they do look good.  The double wall seems to suspend the whisky and really highlights the colour;
• They are a nice shape to hold and the flat bottom means they stand up well, even on uneven surfaces.  Mine often rests in the settee!
• They do seem to remove some of the alcohol vapour when nosing the whisky, although I don’t think this is so apparent on a lower ABV.

The Bad

• The biggest problem for me and one I’m not sure I’ll come to terms with is the width of the rim.  Whilst the double wall looks good, it makes the rim incredibly thick.  So think that you feel the whisky might dribble around your lips if you tip the glass too far;
• They are very light and don’t feel very robust.  So far I’ve been very careful with them, but I can see over time becoming more complacent and really don’t think they’ll hold up well to being knocked about.
• I’m not 100% convinced they make a great deal of difference to the tasting experience, and while they might nose differently, ultimately the important part of drinking whisky is the taste.

I maybe need to give them a little more time, and with Christmas around the corner, I’ll hopefully get a few new bottles to try them with a few different drams, but for now, I’m not really sold on the Norlan whisky glass and much prefer my more traditional tumbler.  

I’ll report back in the New Year…