- Drinks with Max Allen
- Life & Luxury
- Food & Wine
What’s the difference between one whisky glass and another?
The Savu is a new product from Finland, designed to enhance enjoyment of your favourite tipple. We blind-tested it.
The booze world is full of gadgets and widgets that come with big claims about enhancing the enjoyment of your favourite liquid.
From aerating spouts designed to emulate double-decanting and three hours’ breathing, to rare earth magnets that, allegedly, make your two-year-old Aldi shiraz taste like 20-year-old Grange, I’ve lost count of the devices I’ve been sent to try out, and the number of times I’ve been disappointed – although not surprised – by the results.
The Savu whisky glass is the work of Finnish chemist Jari Tuominen.
The latest product to slide across my tasting bench claiming to have pleasure-augmenting properties is the Savu whisky glass. And this timeI was surprised: I found that it does indeed alter the aromas of (some) whiskies poured into it – although the jury’s still out on whether that difference always makes the whisky taste better.
Conceived and designed by Finnish chemist Jari Tuominen and handmade by glassblowers near Helsinki, the small, delicate, hourglass-shaped vessel has “ledges” running down the inside surface that trap some of the whisky as you pour, allowing the ethanol to evaporate and the other aromas to be revealed. The hour-glass shape also means that more ethanol vapour is retained in the bottom half of the glass, again giving the other aromas room to breathe.
At least, that’s the theory. The argument is that the alcohol in whisky – which usually sits at around 40 per cent but can top 60 per cent in cask-strength bottlings – can have a numbing or burning effect in the nostrils for many tasters, and mask other smells. By reducing the ethanol, the “true” enjoyment of the liquid can be achieved.
By reducing the ethanol in a pour, it’s possible to better appreciate the whisky, so the argument goes.
I admit I was sceptical. Indeed, when I mentioned the glass to one whisky expert he went further. “Sounds like bollocks to me,” he sniffed.
So, I arranged a blind smell test. I asked my trusty assistant (actually my long-suffering whisky-loving son) to pour the recommended 20ml of liquid into the Savu and three other glasses: a straight-sided, cut-glass tumbler; a Glencairn tulip-shaped glass commonly used at whisky tastings; and a Denver & Liely, the wide-bottomed Australian-designed whisky glass I often use at home.
I then closed my eyes and had my trusty assistant hold each of the glasses up to my nose. We repeated the exercise over a few minutes with the glasses arranged in different orders. And put three whiskies through their paces, changing the order of the glasses each time: an Archie Rose Double Malt as an example of a more everyday-drinking style; a Smith’s 12-year-old French cask as an example of a richer, sweeter, stronger Australian style; and a Lagavulin eight-year-old to explore the influence of the glass shapes on a full-bodied peaty style.
I didn’t detect a huge difference between the effect the glasses had on the Archie Rose. The Savu made the whisky smell a bit rounder and sweeter – but so did the Denver & Liely.
I found a distinct and repeated difference, though, with the Smith’s: in both rounds of blind sniffing, the whisky in the Savu glass smelled richer, sweeter, more attractive – more whisky-like – than in the others.
The glass worked a treat with a 12-year-old Smith’s French cask whisky.
The Savu had a similar effect on the Lagavulin: the unmistakeable smoky, medicinal peatiness was there in all the glasses but in the Savu it was as though someone had turned the aroma knob up to 11 or 12. The Lagavulin wasn’t just peaty in the Savu, it was positively tarry, like a noseful of freshly laid bitumen on a hot day.
My trusty assistant thought this was great because he loves peaty Islay-style whiskies. I love them too but, for me, the Savu threw the aromas of this particular one out of balance – whereas it had, to my taste, brought out the essential qualities of the Smith’s in a positive way.
The conclusion, then, is that unlike almost all the other experience-altering drinks-related thingamabobs I’ve tested over the years, this one appears to actually work. But whether it enhances your enjoyment or not is another question.
Need to know
- The Savu glass costs $109 for one and $199 for a twin-pack.
- For more info, and to purchase, go to savuglass.com.au
Whisky for the glass
It has been a busy couple of months for Tasmanian distillery Hellyers Road. In March, the distillery’s 16-Year-Old American Oak was named best Australian single-cask single malt at the World Whiskies Awards in the UK. And in April, the company launched a $4.8 million equity raise via the crowdfunding platform OnMarket. All of which seemed like a good excuse for me to taste through a range of the distillery’s products. These are three highlights from that tasting.
Hellyers Road Double Cask [Tasmania]
Single-malt whisky aged first in American oak ex-bourbon casks for a minimum of five years, then finished in French oak barriques that formerly held Tasmanian pinot noir. A terrifically appealing, approachable and full-flavoured whisky, with lovely soft cereal flavours, shot through with a sweet vinosity thanks to the finishing casks. A very good modern Australian single malt. $119
Hellyers Road 16-Year-Old American Oak Single Cask #3191.04 [Tasmania]
I can see why the judges at the World Whiskies Awards were drawn to this excellent malt: distilled in 2003 and bottled 16 years later at cask strength (60.7 per cent) directly from a single ex-bourbon barrel, it’s deceptively pale but full of character: refined, harmonious, sweet vanilla scents, and a beautiful sweep of seamless orange-blossom honey and grain across the palate, finishing long and warm. Even tasted at full strength, it’s remarkably balanced. $540
Hellyers Road 19-Year-Old Voyager Cask [Tasmania]
This single malt spent the first 16 years of its life maturing in American oak casks from Kentucky, then some of the whisky was put into a French oak cask formerly used for wine and liqueur, where it stayed for another three years before bottling. The result is a rich, powerful mouthful of flavour, all caramel and malt and warm wood, roasted nuts and spices. For my taste, it’s a little grunty drunk at full strength (57 per cent). A tiny splash of water helps smooth the edges. $645
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