13 Best Whiskey Glasses For Men (Review) in 2020

JoyJolt Carre market their Scotch glasses as “old fashioned” but we’re not buying it. The design here is aggressively modern, even postmodern in its embrace and then subversion of, clean geometric lines. These are stunning whiskey glasses whose offset geometry is perhaps a subtle commentary on the reality-altering properties of Scotch. They have a beautiful heft to them, as any good men’s whiskey glass should.

The glass allows the Scotch to show off its warm, enchanting tones with the various reds, browns and caramel colors reflecting and refracting in hypnotic patterns that resonate through the base and up into the offset receptacle. Aesthetic musings aside, they’re handmade, sport a broad, remarkably stable base and manage to be both sleek and durable at the same time. No small feat that. In some ways they seem strangely familiar though it’s a certainty you’ve never really seen a whiskey glass like this before.

The Norlan Glass has been getting a lot of attention from whiskey lovers and deservedly so. These are hand blown whiskey glasses that are as much about display as they are about drinking. The glass-inside-a-glass design with its thick walled but light sensitive aspects is as evocative as it is practical. These aren’t wine glasses that are going to break if you look at them the wrong way. These are hardy, men’s whisky glasses that also happen to understand that “manly” and “stylish” are not mutually exclusive terms.

The Norlan whiskey glass is thoroughly modern and yet embraces timeless elements of craft that separate it from many of the more ephemeral aspects of contemporary design. It has a wonderful heft to it, yet it’s not so heavy it becomes a distraction. The interplay of light and color at various angles is deeply satisfying and the ever-so-subtle concave touch at the rim allows you to embrace it by the lip and enjoy every last drop of your beloved whiskey with confidence.

Nothing fancy here just a traditional rocks glass from Luigi Bormioli. The maker has done their homework and come up with a whiskey glass that embodies the essential ideals of weight, stability, clarity, grip and drinkability. The glass is machine blown, break resistant and lead free. The rims are laser cut, the base is thick and insistent and the glasses are purported to withstand up to 4,000 trips through the dishwasher before you’ll see any loss of clarity. A claim we’ll have to take their word for.

Some guys want their whiskey glass to blow their minds. Others want them to deliver the whiskey in a tasteful, simple manner that doesn’t distract from the drink itself. If you’re in the latter camp you’re going to appreciate the Luigi Bormioli Whiskey Rocks Glass for its simple beauty and 21st century versatility. When you’re not having friends over for cocktails you’ll likely find yourself reaching for it in the morning to hold your orange juice or using these as water glasses at dinner time.

In 2016 the US National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary. To commemorate that auspicious occasion Huckberry designed a series of commemorative glasses they named “Whiskey Peaks”. These are beautifully crafted, hand blown whiskey glasses that feature topographic representations of some of the country’s most iconic peaks. In this case the peak in question is New Hampshire’s Mount Washington.

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern US and has some of the worst weather in North America. In fact, on April 12, 1934 the Mt. Washington Observatory recorded a wind speed of 231 mph before the instrumentation broke. That is still the highest surface wind speed ever recorded. Mt. Washington is also known for its outstanding winter ice climbing opportunities as well as unmatched spring skiing in the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine.

If you’re into pounding shots the Glencairn Glass is probably not for you. Not that it can’t be used for that. But its real purpose in life is to allow connoisseurs to savor the complex aroma and taste of their whiskey while sipping in a restrained manner. This whiskey vessel is fashioned from lead-free glass, sports a gently curving profile and sits astride a lustrous conical base that’s heavy enough to ensure stability.

A malt lover’s glass to the core the Glencairn came about as a result of one designer’s desire to codify an ideal whiskey glass design. After consulting with master blenders from many of the world’s premier distilleries the glass that emerged turned out to be a refined version of whiskey tasting glasses that had been with us since the late 80s. Today, the Glencairn glass is a favorite at festivals worldwide and is used for tasting purposes in many distilleries throughout the British Isles and the US.

The Mazama 8 ounce whiskey tumbler is a sort of hybrid glass that will satisfy both those who enjoy their whiskey on the rocks and those who like to savor and sip. The tapered form of the glass funnels the complex aromas toward the nose where they can be enjoyed in their fullest. At the same time there’s also plenty of room for rocks. The shape of the glass is very agreeable and lends itself to being held for long periods of time while you carry on conversations or consider the view out the window.

Because they’re handmade each Mazama Cocktail Glass is unique. This adds a sense of authenticity to the experience you might not otherwise have with machined glasses. The smokey color also brings out the richer tones of the whiskey which again is great for those that love to savor. Beautiful whiskey cocktail glasses that are also dishwasher safe and made in the USA.

The Modernlife Whiskey Glass is convenient and unconventional, innovative yet with more than one foot planted firmly in tradition. Its unique glass/base relationship is one that will have tongues wagging at your next party. That’s not because the design is anything that’s going to make your eyeballs pop the first time you see it. In fact at first glance it looks kind of cheap. No, it’s not the overall profile of the glass that’s so unique. It’s the fact that the makers have reconsidered the relationship between base and glass and determined that this notion that the two must be indivisible is a bunch of hogwash. As a result Modernlife has freed mankind from the burden of having to drag that heavy base up to our lips every time we want to take a drink.

The lead free borosilicate glass is fashioned into a very pleasing clean circular shape with a conical intrusion rising from the bottom. This is what fastens the glass to the base. That base is equally simple and clean in its execution and created from a single piece of hardwood. It has its own convexity thrusting upward that is revealed only when the glass is removed. This wooden cone holds the glass firmly in place until the time has come to sip or swig. And because the base is crafted from high quality hardwood it’s not going to warp or crack with repeated uses or no matter how many times you wash it.

The Rauk Heavy Tumbler is just that. A heavy whiskey tumbler. At the same time it’s also an outstanding rocks glass with a compelling profile that’s going to appeal to everyone from classicists to novices. The Heavy Tumbler takes its name from the Old Scottish word that roughly translates to “rock”. Right there it announces its intentions as a rocks glass and it lives up to those intentions with distinction.

Like coffee lovers whiskey lovers are drawn to the ritual of it all. The sound of the rocks tinkling in the glass, the rush of aromas, the sight of the caramel colored beverage glinting in the light refracted by the cubes and reflected in the various facets of the glass design. Then there’s the lifting of the glass. Feeling the weight in your hand, the way it fills the palm and tugs on the fingers. Finally, the raising of the glass to the lips. The cool, clean feel of the glass and the way the whiskey slides across the interior surface and kisses the lips before presenting itself to the taste buds. It’s fair to say the Rauk Heavy Tumbler was made for ritual.

This whiskey glass from Dragon Glassware redefines contemporary cool and is undoubtedly one of the hottest cocktail glasses on the market today. It saves you the trouble of getting tipsy by being tipsy for you. The inverted pyramidal base tips the glass over at about 50 degrees no matter how you set it down. While this doesn’t serve any particular function it does create a compelling visual that it going to get your party guests talking.

If you’re fond of savoring the aroma of your whiskey this is a good glass for that because it will project the smell in whatever direction you face it. Which means of course that the design is not solely cosmetic after all. Just mostly. And that’s fine because visuals are an important aspect of the whiskey experience. With the Diamond Whiskey Glass you can enjoy the aesthetic side of Scotch or bourbon without worrying that your manhood is under assault from an overly delicate design.

Anchor Hocking has produced a whiskey glass of distinction with their Manchester Rocks Old Fashioned line. The juxtaposition of the tubular shape with the incised grid produces a high degree of visual tension that enables the glass to take on a more substantial air than it would have were it just another standard rocks glass. It feels great in your hand with the grid that terminates just before the lip providing a sure grip and the thick base providing a very pleasing amount of heft.

These glasses each hold 10.5 ounces, making them a bit bigger than most standard rocks glasses. But their low, wide profile mitigates the effect and the incised grid helps to further undermine any sense that the glass might be too big. The fact is they’re perfect for whiskey neat or on the rock and if you don’t have any other way of measuring you can always use the grid as a rough guide. In addition these glasses are just the right size for OJ in the morning. Or Alka Seltzer if you enjoyed a bit too much Scotch out of your glass the night before.

One could be forgiven for taking a look at the Corkcicle Cigar Glass and thinking “gimmick”. On some level it is a gimmick. But if you’re a guy who enjoys a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial with his Scotch you’re going to come to a drastically different conclusion in pretty short order. And that will be more along the lines of “outstanding”.

The most prominent feature of the Corkcicle Cigar Glass is, of course, the cigar rest built into the side of the glass. Perhaps surprisingly it does an excellent job holding your H. Upmann Sir Winston while you consider the light filtering through your bourbon. Some might think that the cigar rest would throw off the balance of the glass. But again, that’s simply not the case.

Speaking of cool: For those who like their whiskey on the rocks but don’t like how melting ice dilutes their spirits there’s the Whiskey Freeze Cooling Cup. Inside the walls of the Whiskey Freeze cup is a proprietary gel similar to what you’ll find in a cold pack. Place the Freeze cup in the fridge for a couple of hours before use and it will keep your Scotch, bourbon or rye at a tasty (and undiluted) 43 to 53 degrees while you drink it.

The Whiskey Freeze cup can be used for any whiskey cocktail whose taste you don’t want to suffer from the scourge of melted ice cubes. Mix an outstanding Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, Highball or Jack and Coke or just enjoy your Scotch neat and nicely chilled. When you think about how long various gels have been used in cold packs it’s a bit surprising no one has thought of putting them to work in glasses before.

The final entry on our list of best whiskey glasses for men comes from the same people who created the much talked about Diamond Whiskey Glass profiled above. Dragon Glassware has made it their mission (apparently) to turn the world of traditional rocks glasses on its head. Or at least on a 50 degree angle. With the Diamond Whiskey Glass they took the standard cylindrical rocks glass and tipped it on its side. With their Crescent Shaped glass they’ve left the bottom of the glass intact and sliced off the top at an oblique angle.

The effect is strangely disarming and seems right. As a result, if we had to choose between the Diamond and the Crescent we’d probably side with this Crescent Shaped Whiskey Glass. But not for reasons that are particularly clear to us. After all, having one side of the rim raised higher than the other definitely limits ways that you can approach the glass. And yet even that bit of impracticality isn’t enough for us to banish it from our list. In that sense it’s kind of like an abstract painting that you don’t really understand but you can’t take your eyes off of.