Before we go any further, check out our monthly free samples or sign up to our free VIP club to avail of our exclusive rebate program. This is our way of welcoming you to this website. Basically, a whiskey decanter is a vessel with a stopper used to store and serve your whiskey or bourbon.
It is usually square-cut with intricate etchings that make it look sophisticated. They are either made of glass or crystal. Crystal whiskey decanters add a gorgeous sparkle that accentuates the amber color of the whiskey but there have been notions that lead in the crystal is quite hazardous to the health.
Nowadays, decanters made from glass or lead-free crystal are preferred. If you buy a decanter, it usually comes with matching whiskey glasses to complete the look of the set. Decanters are actually made for wine. Wine decanters come in various elaborate designs and shapes and have no stoppers. There are two things that a wine decanter is supposed to do: separating the sediments from the wine and introducing air to the wine to let it breathe and open up the flavors and aromas.
By the names, you can easily distinguish both decanters because they are intended for the specific drink for which they are named. So here are the differences between the whiskey decanter and the wine decanter:. When it comes to whiskey decanters , they are smaller in size compared to wine decanters. You drink whiskey in little amounts only so with this, a decanter that has a smaller capacity is understandable.
They often have a capacity of 25 ounces, the standard bottle of whiskey. Whiskey decanters also tend to be heavier because they are built for stability and it could also depend on the material it is made of.
Those that are made from the crystal will be denser than those made from glass. In the case of wine decanter, they are designed to have a bigger capacity to give room for the air to interact with the wine. Especially if you plan on drinking that whiskey anytime soon. Decanting wine serves a pretty specific, though still debated, function: removing sediment and encouraging oxidation. Just imagine leaving your glass of Malbec unattended overnight and going back for a breakfast taste.
Generally speaking, though, and backed up by none other than the Scotch Whisky Association whom we just assume are not to be messed with , whiskey, once bottled, is a finished product.
Wine has a lot more tannin content than whiskey naturally occurring in the grape, borrowed from the barrel, etc. Typically made out of glass or crystal, decanters have grown increasingly decorative in design over time. These days, decanters can be found in all manner of shapes, sizes, and intricacies, with humbler options coming in around the price of a meal and the most expensive alternatives fetching four, five, or even six figures.
While carafes are a similar piece of glassware that is also used for the storage of alcohol, they differ in that they typically forgo these features. In practice, this is because carafes can be used for serving anything from water to juice to wine. Thus, apart from its notable lack of a stopper, you can usually tell a carafe from a decanter because of its elongated body and its relatively modest base. Originally intended for wine storage, decanters first saw widespread use throughout England around the turn of the 18th century.
At the time, drinkers were spending vast sums on expensive fine wines, and they needed an appropriate container to store and serve their purchases. Because most wines were shipped unfiltered and full of bitter sediment lees , the decanter was developed in order to fulfill an important need. That is, in contrast to the opaque containers traditionally used to serve wine — such as dark bottles or earthen pottery — the clear decanter allowed the server to see the lees and prevent it from contaminating the glass.
But decanters had another yet another benefit over that which they replaced: aeration. By increasing the surface area of the air content inside, these pieces of glassware effectively oxidized the wine that they were storing. As such, by , British glassmakers had introduced stoppers to their decanter designs in order to prevent the wine within from experiencing unwanted exposure to air. And along with the adoption of the stopper came the implementation of decanters for use with all kinds of spirits, including aperitifs, cordials, rum, and yes, even whiskey.
With it being preferable to store wine in glass bottles, public drinking houses and other establishments gradually began keeping their spirits tapped from aging barrels and casks in lead and crystal decanters. Since that time, decanters have stayed largely the same, albeit with subtle differences in their materials and finishes. Decanters were so commonplace in the past as a way of serving wine without much sediment getting in the glass.
Thus ensuring a more pleasurable drinking session. After all, natural wines might well be on trend, but coughing on gritty sediment is never going to be popular! If the point of wine decanters is partially a practical one, when it comes to whiskey, gin, brandy and other spirit decanters, we move into a far more visual realm.
The simple fact is that liquor decanters - in all their shapes, forms, and styles — look damned cool. Just like wine, liquor comes in a range of beautiful colors, and a decanter is the perfect way to boost your appreciation of those different tones.
Why else would they invariably be made of clear glass or crystal? This effect is far more subtle than it is with a tannic wine. Wine decanters will always be open-topped and without a stopper. When it comes to breathing and oxidation, a little goes a long way.
If you leave your wine in a decanter for more than a few hours the oxygen will have wreaked havoc, leaving the wine flat and tasteless. Spirits, on the other hand, are far better at preserving themselves and can be kept in a decanter with a ground glass stopper for as long as you wish. However you should only store spirits in a glass decanter for long periods of time. If you have a decanter made of crystal, the lead contained within the crystal can leach into your spirits.
For this reason, they are not recommended for use longer than just a few hours. At Prestige Decanters, all of our decanters are made of glass.
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