Zwiesel Glas Glamorous

Choose the size to match what you put in it. 50 cl equals about two thirds of a bottle of spirits, enough to see you through an evening without the drink standing in the decanter for weeks. 75 cl is exactly one bottle of water or wine, so you can decant it in one go. Also pay attention to the stopper: a ground glass stopper closes well enough to slow evaporation, but does not seal spirits airtight. So do not store anything in it that you want to keep for months. More models can be found at the carafes.

Fill a whisky decanter with a matured drink that will not change any further in the glass, such as bourbon or rum, and leave young or peaty whisky in its own bottle. Pour with a short, decisive movement and nothing will run down the neck. Put the water carafe on the table with a few slices of lemon in it. Anyone making an old fashioned or pouring other whiskey cocktails will find the decanter a handy staging post. Do not fill it up into the neck, or you will pour over the rim with the very first glass.

Carafes are harder to clean than glasses because you cannot reach inside with a cloth. Rinse immediately after use with lukewarm water and leave to drain upside down on a rack. For deposits, a handful of rice with a little water helps: swirl it around and then rinse it away. Only put the stopper back once the carafe is dry inside, otherwise you get a musty smell.

The rest of the brand can be found at Zwiesel Glas. If you want to pair the decanter with glasses, have a look at the whisky glasses. For wine that needs to breathe, a decanter is more suitable, and for water on the table there are also water jugs. Carafe and glasses do not have to come from the same series, by the way; what matters more is that the height of the glass suits the base of the carafe on the tray.