The Best Whiskey Glasses, According to Our Tests

Our Favorite Whiskey Glasses

After testing 11 whiskey glasses, only a select few stood out from the pack. For a pour on the rocks or an old fashioned, the Riedel rocks glass hits the perfect balance of style, build quality, and capacity. If the goal is a beautiful glass that can handle cocktails, we highly recommend the Spiegelau Double Old Fashioned Glasses. For proper tastings, nothing beats the Glencairn. Its clever design and tulip shape make it the ideal glass for enjoying the color, aroma, and flavor of any spirit.

How We Tested Whiskey Glasses

To test each whiskey glass, we used each to make a variety of drinks and assessed the glass’s performance with each drink. 

• Neat pour test: First, we poured two ounces of whiskey without ice or any mixers into each glass.
• On the rocks test: We tried a pour of whiskey on the rocks with one large cube.
• Old Fashioned test: We made a traditional old fashioned cocktail with a single large ice cube and built the cocktail in the glass with a muddled sugar cube.
• Margarita test: We also made a traditional margarita recipe served on the rocks in each of the previous glasses.
• Cleanup: Although some of the whiskey glasses we tested were technically dishwasher safe, we hand-washed each glass after testing to evaluate how easy it was to remove smudges and stains.

Through each test, we assessed the capacity of each glass and wash line of each drink to determine if it could accommodate the volume of each drink. Throughout the process, we paid close attention to any design nuances that affected performance, any chips or cracks from regular use, and any major issues or annoyances from cleaning the whiskey glasses.

What We Looked For in the Best Whiskey Glasses

Capacity

The volume of liquid that any glass can hold determines its function. Smaller glasses may be perfect for neat pours but can’t accommodate the larger volume of a cocktail with ice. Larger glasses can hold a more diverse array of cocktails and large-format or spherical ice but will dwarf the standard, two-ounce neat pour, making it look like there’s next to no whiskey in the glass.

Durability

The best whiskey glass should maintain a balance between elegance and sturdiness. A thick-walled glass can feel plastic-like and cheap, while thinner walls may be too delicate and crack and chip easily, which presents an obvious danger. 

Design

Certain design choices can affect the functionality of a glass. If the intent is to build cocktails like an old fashioned or Negroni in the glass, you will want a glass that has a smooth interior wall that is at a perfect 90-degree angle from the base. This shape makes it easy to properly stir the drink with a bar spoon.

Etchings are another design nuance that differentiates glasses. Aesthetically, heavy, ornate etching makes a glass less versatile — it would look funny to serve a margarita in a glass with a very detailed filigree or geometric design. 

Weight Distribution

Enjoying a glass of whiskey should be a pleasurable experience, and that extends to how the glass feels in your hand. Glasses that are too top or bottom-heavy tend to feel clunky and awkward, so I looked for glasses with a balanced, natural weight distribution.

Cleanup and Care

Some glasses we tested were dishwasher safe, and some were not. For our test, we hand-washed every glass after each use. Due to the overall simplicity of the glass style, most were very easy to hand wash. Design factors like etching can allow grime to build up in the nooks over time if not properly washed, but we didn’t encounter any of these problems in our short-term testing. 

Other Whiskey Glasses We Tested

Strong Contenders

Dorset Single Old Fashioned Glasses ($132 at Williams Sonoma)

These Dorset whiskey glasses have an exceptional build and a classic design. The main problem is that at about $33 per glass, they were one of the most expensive glasses we tested. Since these single old fashioned glasses are best for neat pours, their price didn't quite justify their limited use. Our cocktails and heavier neat pours looked a bit massive in these.

Zwiesel Glas Classico Cocktail Glasses ($72 at Pottery Barn)

These classic old fashioned glasses made a stylish cocktail, but they felt brittle and were more expensive than the similar set of glasses from Libbey.

What Didn't Make the List

Whiskey glasses are a simple tool, and the best stuck to the classic design. We found that glasses like the Maquis by Waterford with wider openings than bases made stirring an old fashioned or a Negroni in the glass slightly more difficult. We also found that colored glasses, like the Estelle Hand Blown Tinted glasses, gave the whiskey or cocktails a slightly unnatural color that might turn some drinkers off. Other glasses like this stylish set from Zwiesel had a unique shape that limited their usefulness. These glasses might be the perfect fit in the right home bar, but we opted for whiskey glasses with wider appeal.

Our Expertise

• Dylan Ettinger is a drinks writer with a focus on spirits, cocktails, and coffee. He has visited dozens of distilleries across the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean where he has learned from some of the most renowned spirits makers in the world. Over the past few years, Dylan has tested and written extensively about bar tools and glassware.
• As part of the research for this story, VP of Commerce Taysha Murtaugh interviewed Alex Thomas, Bushmills Master Blender. When Alex was young, she lived near Bushmills and dreamed of one day working at the distillery. Today, she has reached almost 20 years of crafting whiskey at this world’s oldest licensed distillery.