Tasting glasses

For beer, 15 or 20 centilitres is the usual size. You pour a third to a half of that, leaving room for the head and for swirling. If you are lining up six craft beers, a set of 15 cl will take you furthest: big enough for a fair mouthful, small enough to see the evening through. If you want to taste with a full head on top, 20 cl is more comfortable.

For whisky and eau de vie, take a tulip-shaped glass of 12 to 15 centilitres with a clearly tapering neck, such as the Islay model from Lehmann. Only two centilitres go in; the rest of the space is there to let the alcohol vapour rise and thin out. For wine the opposite applies: there you want volume, because a bowl of 30 to 35 centilitres lets you swirl without spilling. The standardised wine tasting glass is deliberately neutral in shape, so every wine gets the same treatment.

Always pour the same amount into every glass, because a half-full glass smells different from a quarter-full one. Hold the glass by the stem or the foot and never by the bowl, since the warmth of your hand releases the volatile compounds faster. First look at colour and clarity against a white background, then swirl briefly and smell in two short sniffs rather than one long draw.

With beer the head counts: pour into the middle from about ten centimetres up and let the last stretch run down the side. With whisky, add a few drops of water after the first nose and smell again, because water breaks the alcohol and releases the aromas underneath. Between two samples, rinse with a little of the next sample instead of with water.

A tasting glass should not smell of anything at all. That sounds obvious, but detergent residue and the smell of a cupboard are the most common reasons a tasting makes no sense. So wash tasting glasses with very little detergent, rinse them thoroughly with hot water and let them air dry on a rack.

Polish them with a lint-free cloth just before use and smell inside the empty glass before you pour. If it smells of the cupboard or of the cloth, rinse again. Almost all of them are dishwasher safe, but don't put them in the same machine as greasy plates. Store the glasses upright rather than upside down, so no stale air gets trapped inside.

If you are after larger glasses for serving rather than tasting, the beer range sits under beer glasses and the shapes per beer style are grouped under craft beer glasses. For whisky neat, look at the whisky glasses, and the full wine range sits under wine glasses. Small glasses for a shot or a nip are among the shot glasses. If you want to taste a classic combination, the kopstoot page explains how beer and jenever are served together, and the whiskey sour page covers the sour version with lemon.