Decanter set (whisky, brandy, bourbon etc)

[hifilover1979]

For those of you who partake in a dram / snifter / small glass of whatever it is you sup, do any of you have a decanter set that you use regularly?

It's like a fantasy of mine, more so when you see various films where one's used etc.

I fancy getting one for the dresser, nothing silly priced, £50 to £100 would be good.

Any thoughts / suggestions?

 

[Sonority]

One of the few places left that make their own blanks and cut them - here in the West Midlands.https://brierleyhillcrystal.co.uk/

 

[Bob McC]

I have three fine cut crystal decanters.
Two cuboid, for whisky and bourbon and a ships decanter that I use for port.
They sit on a silver tray.
I also have a set of Edinburgh lead crystal whisky glasses I bought in the 70s.
I regularly buy fine crystal from charity shops because the glasses you buy now are far too thick for me.
I am keeping my eyes out for a tantalus when the charity shops reopen.

Charity shops are your friend. Fine Edinburgh lead crystal decanters can be had for £10-£20.

 

[stairpost]

Something traditional like this is v.cool.

https://www.jamespirie.com/presentation-boxed-edinburgh-square-spirit-decanter.html

 

[Ponty]

I tend to use Dartington decanters. Nice contemporary designs at sensible prices. Can’t stand the cut crystal stuff.

 

[Weekender]

Charity Shop favourites...pre-Covid.

 

[zygote23]

I use this for my run of the mill stuff. Made by LSA.
The out of focus glass to the right is the 'Blade Runner' glass which was a gift....I'd never pay up for something that I am likely to smash when plastered!

 

[wacko]

I can't see the point of a decanter except for wine as that has a practical use. Is it to hide the name of whatever you are drinking ?

 

[david ellwood]

It really surprised me the difference it made to a bottle of red to get some air into it.

 

[foxwelljsly]

It really surprised me the difference it made to a bottle of red to get some air into it.

Yeah, the act of decanting allows liquid contact with the air and allows a little oxidisation to take place. Spanish ciders are poured in an elaborate fashion to maximise this effect. However, I always though wine and port were decanted so they could be poured without fear of getting any sediment in your glass. I don't know why one would decant a spirit, unless you were 'rationing' it. I speak as one that has ploughed through a £200 bottle of cognac on more than one occasion.

 

[LecsonQuad]

To the OP,
I've got in my cupboard a load of cut glass stuff including decanters which came to me after my mum and uncle died. I've been looking for a home for them for some time. If you cover the cost of postage you can have some. Give me a couple of days and I'll have photos if you are interested.

 

[Dogberry]

Some bottles are quite good in their own right
the new Arran style or what about Glenturret part
owned by Lalique.

 

[Dogberry]

Waterford Moments decanter.
Available at Amazon.

 

[stevec67]

Some bottles are quite good in their own right
the new Arran style or what about Glenturret part
owned by Lalique.

+1. I use these a lot, for water on the table, wine if needed, and oil in the kitchen. Once used for oil they generally get recycled, the oil sticks to the inside, goes stale and is almost impossible to remove.

 

[gintonic]

we reuse our oil bottles to keep water in the fridge.

we have some of these for water on the table

http://www.theglassmakers.co.uk/bottlesshaftandglobe.htm


I am not sure I'd ever decant a spirit, unless you were going to get through it quickly.

 

[wacko]

There is an environmental push to use lighter bottles for wine. Or even cans or bags. Decanters might get used more often in future.

 

[Weekender]

Infinity bottles.
Young cask strength bottles e.g. Glenfarclas 105, though just as easy to double decant back into the bottle.
Cheap stuff.

 

[Vinny]

I always though wine and port were decanted so they could be poured without fear of getting any sediment in your glass

Amongst the beverages that the great majority of the masses drink, sediment will either be absent or totally un-noticeable/un-noticed. That said, plenty of £15+ bottles of wine will throw a sediment if they hang around for a year or two, or more, but far from guaranteed.

The effect varies hugely from wine to wine, but decanting just lets oxygen get to the wine and much the same effect can be obtained by taking the top off of/cork out of a bottle several hours before drinking.

It isn't only wines that benefit though. I very much like Mount Gay Eclipse but the second time I drank it, it was from a freshly opened bottle and it was not nice at all. Left to stand, cap replaced, for a few days and it was what I had experinced the first time around. Mount Gay Black Barrel works the other way - the smoky flavour disperses after opening the bottle.

 

[gary1064]

I may be mistaken, modern cut glass crystal is lead free, but vintage decanters will almost certainly be lead glass. They're ok for serving but shouldn't be used for long term storage as the lead can leach into the contents. Seems like a good excuse to finish the bottle!

 

[Vinny]

I may be mistaken, modern cut glass crystal is lead free

I strongly suspect that crystal may be one of only a very few exceptions to the lead-free laws of a few years ago.

What is lead crystal? - Cumbria Crystal

When I visited Dema Glass around 10 years ago, not so long before the plant closed, they had just phased-out use or arsenic in their glasses. Originally, Dema made every kind of bulk use glassware, including drinking glasses, but when I visited they were only making glass for use in lamp manufacture, so what arsenic went into I do not know, perhaps just lamp glasses. It was added to reduce the yellow tint that soft soda-lime glass has. I can't remember how much went in, but it was a tiny amount.
They had decided to stop adding it after they had had a H&S survey done. The whole inside of the building had a light dusting of very fine glass "snow", and it turned-out that arsenic, by weird quirk of their process, was much higher in the "snow" than in the glass.