The Scotch Blog

Sherry; "Sherry Oak" - which is it?

Another excellent question from Alan Lazerow, who wrote the informative article Whisky and Orthodox Jews.

We have established that the unique taste of whisky aged in sherry cask is not due to the sherry, but rather, the wood involved (Spanish oak).

Presumably, this spanish oak is also used to hold port, madeira wine, burgundy wine, etc. If that's the case, what's the big deal if the Balvenie 21 is a Portwood? If the taste is from the oak, it should taste the same as a 21 year old madeira wood. Also, why the need for Glenmorangie to have a whole line of 12's (madeira, burgundy, sherry, port) - shouldn't it all taste the same - after all, it's all spanish oak?!

Johnnie Walker goes to Beirut

Martin S. (from my alma mater Johns Hopkins) asked if I had seen this ad, which is apparently draped on a building along the road to Beirut.

I'm not sure how I feel about this...

Is it meant to be an uplifting homage to the strength of the people of Beirut; or a crass commercial attempt to fit an ad campaign into an unfortunate situation.

Were I in charge of advertising for JW in the Middle East, I think I would have tried a different tactic.

What do YOU think?

Whisky and Orthodox Jews

Alan Lazerow is a reader of The Scotch Blog and we correspond often. Recently Alan had been asking a lot of questions about the use of sherry casks during the maturation of Scotch. It was only later that I found out that Alan had his own blog which focuses on Jewish topics - and that he had recently written a very interesting 2-part post on sherry and whisky.

I asked Alan to rewrite his story for The Scotch Blog. I think Orthodox Jews and non-Jews alike will find the story interesting...

The Collector - July

Announcing a new feature...The Collector.

I get a lot of questions about the value of collectible whiskies. Unfortunately, I'm not a collector, I'm a drinker, and I can't answer these questions. Luckily for me, I know one of the word's foremost collectors...Sukhinder Singh, proprietor of London-based The Whisky Exchange.

I end up farming out many of the questions to Sukhinder and get back to the reader who e-mailed the original question via email.

I figure, why not make this a regular feature?

Once a month (The last friday of each month) I'll post the responses from Sukhinder for everyone to read. So if you have questions on a collectible bottle you've discovered, send them in, and we'll get them answered. Use the "...Ask the Collector" link under "Stay in Touch..." over to the right.

If you want to read more about The Whisky Exchange, here is a story from May 2006.

And now, the first installment of "The Collector".

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Ground Rules

We are getting swamped with emails every month! Believe me, we get a LOT of questions and only a small percentage of them make it here - but we try to respond to everyone.

In order to help reduce the amount of work, I thought I'd establish some ground rules:

1. Before emailing, please look through the old "Ask The Collector" stories, to see if a similar bottle has already been appraised. If we get another question about the value of a bottle of White Horse from 1990, I'm going to put my head through the screen.
2. Some people have been leaving questions for Sukhinder in the comments. This is a no-no. I will assume any questions left in comments are for other readers to answer and NOT for Sukhinder - If you want Sukhinder's expert opinion please use the "...Ask the Collector" email address in the link to the right.
3. No questions will be considered without an included picture. I spend too much time asking people for pictures. Starting in 2007, I'm afraid we can't respond to any questions which don't include a picture of the bottle. In you don't include a picture, you won't get a response. Make sure your pictures include the fill level as well as the label and any distinguishing characteristics!
4. If Sukhinder makes an offer to buy your bottle, please do him the courtesy of responding whether you accept his offer or not.
5. Please visit The Whisky Exchange - either in person or via their website. Let's support Sukhinder, as he is providing this valuation services for free!

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Balvenie Single Barrel

Reader Alan Lazerow had some questions about Balvenie Single Barrel:

What is the bottling process for a "single barrel" Scotch (ie, the Balvenie 15)? Obviously, since it's not cask strength, they can't just pop a tap into the barrel...correct?

I'm assuming that they run it through the dilution and filtration process by itself (ie with no other casks)....sounds expensive.

Why the decision to bottle at at a higher ABV as opposed to the more standard 40-46%? I just assumed that they only bottled at higher % than 46% when doing a cask strength....

Finally - why call it a single barrel, and not single cask? I thought single barrel was mainly used for bourbons...

Ian Millar, Chief Brand Ambassador for Balvenie & Glenfiddich, gives us the following answers:

Kevin,
The bottling process is simple, the barrel is removed from warehouse and transferred up to the bottling line, where it is decanted into a break tank using a small a pump.

In the break tank it is reduced to about 48% ABV. One barrel is too little in volume to chill filter - for chill filtration you would need a minimum of 12 barrels to make it worth your while - the equipment requires at least 4 barrels just to fill it up. The whisky is then pumped through two carbon in-line filters into the bottling filler heads - I told you it was simple.

We reduce to 48% as below 46% it would be cloudy. 48% also offers us the best starting point for tasting this whisky - but allows the buyer to add further water to meet personal tastes.

A cask can be an: American Oak Barrel at 185 litres, a Hogshead at 250 litres or a European Oak Butt at 500 litres. A Hogshead is used more often than not for our Single Barrel - and always American Oak, hence the slightly different taste from the usual Balvenie.

Why "Barrel"? The word cask covers all types of maturation wood and therefore fairly generic, "Single Barrel" is more appropriate and is less confusing with Cask Finish.

If you have any questions about Glenfiddich or Balvenie you can ask Ian directly at the Glenfiddich Blog, co-written with Global Brand Ambassador Ludo Ducrocq.

Screw (Cap) This [Pt. 2]

Continuing our look at the cork and its place in Scotch...

I also got in touch with a representative from Amorim one of the largest manufacturers in the world, based in Portugal. Deborah Guimaraens is the sales manager for Bar Top Corks also called "T-Corks."

My job is to sell a particular type of cork called bar top corks. These corks have a cork body/shank attached to some type of top that can be made of plastic, wood, metal and other materials.

What I can say, is that the main reason corks are used in whisky or spirits is because, in theory, no-one drinks a whole bottle at once. Hence, you need a special cork that can be easily reinserted into the bottle. Bar top corks are not compressed during bottling as in wine corks. Their diameter should be 1 to 1.5 mm wider than the bottle neck in order to fulfill it's purpose as a closure, to ensure a good fit. This means that the consumer can easily open and close the bottle using the same cork, without having to use a cork screw and without running the risk of falling particles into the spirit. Cork as a raw material also has the wonderful ability to deal with small bottle irregularities, very common in spirits - particularly in small producers who buy small bottle runs. For an irregular bottle a cork closure is by far the most efficient.

The other big reason for using a cork in a spirit is for consumer differentiation. If you look at the whisky market as a whole, the premium whiskies are all in cork, and the standard blends are all in screw cap. It's an image thing. I am sure the marketing experts from any large whisky company can give you precise reasons, they probably have market studies to prove this I am sure.

TCA does affect whisky of course the same way it affects all beverages. The difference in whisky is that the TCA level has to be a lot higher - in it's 20's at least - before it's detected by the human nose.

This is because the fumes of the whisky overpower the TCA on the nose, it is more easily detectable on the palate. The TCA threshold varies enormously with the flavour profile of the whisky, for example you would probably detect it more readily in a Dewar's than you would in a Talisker.

We don't have specific studies concerning the affect of TCA on whisky as our corks go into many many types of spirits and fortifieds and, as you know, the variety in enormous.

At Whisky Live New York, I talked about corks in some detail with Ian Millar, Distillery Manager and Chief Ambassador for Glenfiddich.

KE - Let's talk corks. The Glenfiddich 12 uses a screw top while the rest of your expressions use cork.

IM - The perception of the consumer is that cork is quality...so we've been thinking about moving the 12 year old to cork as well. But cork brings with it some issues.

If you look at the wine trade right now a lot of the new world wines are actually going away from corks to synthetics - the seal is good and you don't get so many returns or consumer issues in relation to a spoiled cork.

The Balvenie 10 year old, which is our biggest seller with a cork, gets a lot of complaints about spoiled corks.

KE - IS this a real problem, or just baseless complaints?

IM - No, We take the whisky back, and you can smell it. So we've been looking at bottling with a synthetic cork. But the problem with synthetic cork is that they haven't been through a trial. You'd have to test the product in the bottle and how do you simulate that for 40 years?

So, though we'd like to move the 12 to cork, keep in mind - Glenfiddich 12 outsells Balvenie 10, eight bottles to one. And we are already having lots issues with the corks in the 10, so we want to be sure, before we make such a move. Remember, we are a big company and we bottle a lot of product. The Glenfiddich 12 is a high speed line, and we'd have to make massive changes to the line to incorporate cork.

But we are getting a lot of mixed messages - the wine trade and a few others are looking at moving away from cork to synthetics and screw tops. At the same time we know we can't move away from cork to synthetic because of a lack of data showing how well they'll work long-term. So we'd be taking a big chance. So for now, we will wait and see how things settle, before we make our next move.

If synthetics are proven, or screw caps become more socially acceptable, and it blows any quality perception issues out of the water, we could more more products to screw caps.

KE - Well tell me, how long have you been with a screw cap on the 12?

IM - Forever.

KE - Exactly. So a screw top is obviously not cutting into your sales, so why even think about going to a cork on the 12?

IM - It's easy to settle for what you've got, but we want more. And the only way to get more, is to keep on improving. And to show the consumer that you're making every effort to improve the quality of what you produce, both inside the bottle and how attractive it looks, and how it is packaged are all factors in the perception.

KE - But do you think there is a problem with the perception of the quality of the 12? And if there IS a problem with the perception, will a cork change that?

IM - If I look at a wine bottle, and I see it has a screw top on it, it almost puts me off buying it.

KE - I agree with you.

IM - So that perception is already there. Two products sitting on a shelf, one with a screw-top, one with a cork, that might push a consumer to buy one over the other. And that affects their perception of quality. The packaging is all about selling that first bottle. That taste is what sells the second, the third bottle. So you've got to get that first impression right. It's all in the packaging.

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I must admit, I like pulling out a cork, it really is quite satisfying...but apparently, aside from my own satisfaction, the cork isn't bringing anything to the party.

I must also admit, that recently I was served an Australian wine that, while pretty damn good, I was irked to pay $60 for something with a screw cap.

Obviously, there are cost savings to the industry. I wonder, though, if moving to screw tops would result in any discernible reduction in the price to my favorite malts. I wonder if the cost differential is big enough to pass on, or this would be pure profit to the distillers?

We will see where the industry goes - and how consumers respond to the (inevitable??) move.

Hope that answers your question Jody...

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Thanks to Jimmy Robertson (Morrison-Bowmore), Jim McEwan & Mark Reynier (Bruichladdich), John Glaser (Compass Box), Marty Duffy (Diageo), Dave Robertson (JMR), Graham Eunson, (Glenmorangie), Ian Millar (Glenfiddich), Deborah Guimaraens (Amorim) and Neil Macdonald (Chivas Brothers) for their input.

Screw (Cap) This [Pt. 1]

Over at Whisky101 (the reader participation wing of The Scotch Blog) Jody Cairns asks:

How about an article behind the usefulness (or lack thereof) of corks? Do they serve any practical purpose? Are they only a marketing gimmick? I suspect it's all about perception, but then you'd think why don't the bottlers of blends adopt using corks, too? Is there a marketing agreement between single-malts and blend bottlers to permit only single-malts the use of corks?
I look forward to reading any insight you can bring about the subject.

Ah, the age old question of the cork. Corks have a long history with Scotch - before the screw cap was invented, all bottles were sealed with cork. Plus, there's an undeniable, emotionally satisfying aspect to pulling out a cork - as opposed to screwing off a cap.

But don't whisky producers face some of the same issues faced by wine makers?

What about TCA taint?
If you are not also a wine drinker, you may not be familiar with the concept of "cork taint" which is a very real bacterial issue affecting as much as 2-5% of bottled wines. A bottle of wine that has cork taint is generally referred to as being "corked."

The following explanation of cork taint in wine comes paraphrased from The Wine Steward:

All natural cork contains traces of a bacterial compound known as Trichloroanisole, or “TCA” for short. When it occurs at a certain level (literally just a few parts per trillion) it imparts a “taint” to the wine.

In the early stages of TCA spoilage, only those especially sensitive to the taint can detect it. Rather than an aroma or flavor, there is initially only a “dumbing” of the wine’s original fruit character; it is simply not all that it should be. With more time, the spoilage develops to something almost anyone can sense: A “wet newspaper” mustiness that has completely replaced the wine’s original aromas and flavors. This is not damage you can actually see; other structural flaws are to blame for leaky or brittle corks.

We might assume that cork taint also presents a problem for any whisky which uses a cork - but this is apparently not an issue that concerns some in the industry:

In 43 years of distilling, blending, coopering, cask warehousing, countless tastings with IWSC [International Wine & Spirit Competition] and ISC [International Spirits Challenge], and thousands of bottles sold, I have only ever found a handful of bottles that were corked.

Did you know that from the seventeenth century until the mid 1970s all maturing casks had cork bungs - it was only when racked warehouses were introduced that oak bungs were used to seal the casks.

So, if cork was a problem surely, over the course of 300 years, someone would have spotted the problem. Or could it simply be that the distillers and blenders of yester-year were not nearly as clever as today's “experts”?

The reason cork was used was to enable the cask to breath - which helped to stop the build-up of pressure within the cask. Such a build-up could cause leakage where a weak spot may have been in the cask.

Corked whisky is now the latest blog baby . How did we ever make it this far without such experts? Whats next? Plastic bottles ?

Sorry, I could go on but I need a strong dram from a bottle with a cork.
Jim McEwan

There are some dissenting opinions about this:

Whiskies can be corked (have "cork taint"), just like wine. This is a fact. I can show you examples.
John Glaser

Cork cause problems. TCA and dissolved cork are a reality if the liquid lies against the cork for any length of time.

We have 100 year old bottles of Cognac at Berry's but they have been standing all that time. No rest for great Spirits.
Ronnie Cox

Perhaps the cork allows the whisky to breathe?
Nope. In case you didn't know, whisky ceases to mature once removed from the cask - unlike wine which continues to mature and evolve (and eventually devolve), helped along by the oxidation effects of air that is allowed in through the cork:

The cork in a bottle of Scotch does not act as it does in wine and permit further breathing. The moment that the spirit is decanted from the cask and filled to glass the breathing and ageing process ceases.
Jimmy Robertson

As Jim McEwan stated above, cork bungs were used in casks at one time, and the purpose was to allow the cask to breathe. At Glenmorangie, they are still using them:

I think cork, as you suggest, does have a perception of quality rather than any actual benefit when used in bottling.  - we do however still use it for our cask bungs (although not exclusively anymore as it's very hard to get -so now only when refilling a cask already "soft" bunged ie 2nd fill) -  we believe it allows the cask to breath easier and reduces any pressure that may build up on warmer days.
Graham Eunson

Let's talk about Blends
To clarify things - there is no agreement between single malts and blended whiskies concerning corks. Glenfiddich 12 and Grant's use screw caps, while many of the higher end blends (JW Gold, JW Blue, Chivas Royal Salute) use corks.

Blended scotches used corks as well back in the day, but they were selling faster than single malts and being consumed faster than single malts - so when the much cheaper twist offs were invented in the early 1900's, they were adopted for blends.

It was thought that a cork provided better long term protection for a whisky, so the single malts kept them - since most consumers, even now, parcel it out. 

Most bars today will go through more Johnnie Walker Black Label in a week than most single malts in a year, so long term storage is not an issue with blends.
Marty Duffy

Economics plays its part
Screw tops are much cheaper to make - a fraction of the cost of corks. And since most blends require highly specific cost targets to meet the price points for different tiers - that equals no corks in the mass market blends.

Security, as well

These are parts of the world where fraudulent use and counterfeiting mean it is preferable to use bottles with a non refillable closure - this helps stop the bottle being refilled with cheaper whisky.
Neil Macdonald

So why not use screw caps on Single Malts - don't they face the same issues?

Corks have traditionally been used on Scotch whiskies and I guess the idea of moving away from them, like with wine, would be considered a down market move.    
Mark Reynier

Interesting question and it seems to be a covention that quality whiskies use corks - mainly because they are seen as a strong indicator of quality. Also there is a definite tactile pleasure when you hear the gentle "thwock" of a cork being drawn out of the bottle - something a screwcap just does not emulate.
Neil Macdonald

$30 + for a bottle of malt so most maketers/brands/companies believe that cork is king for this. Personally we use them in JMR bottles 'cause we love the popping sound they make when you open and close the bottle!
Dave Robertson

It's very straightforward in my view. It's all about another of our senses SOUND. Sound is an important part of the ritual. The wondeful pop each time - rather than the one time metallic "crack".
Ronnie Cox

John Glaser is passionate about cork - or actually, the need to move away from cork. Is John trying to cut costs? I doubt it, John is also quite passionate about using the finest woods to age his whisky, so I know cost isn't a factor in his decisions...

There is no doubt:  the Scotch whisky industry continues to use cork on super premium whiskies ONLY because of consumer perception.  The common consumer perception is that cork is superior closure suitable for better, more expensive products.

Why do we use cork?  It's a traditional and historically effective closure for bottles, especially wine bottles that require small amounts of oxidation over many years.

There is no economic and certainly no product quality-driven reason for Scotch whisky bottlers to use cork anymore.

Synthetic corks can work, but have two problems: 1) after repeated opening and closing, the silicon wears off and the corks get stuck; and 2) biodegradability.

The Scotch whisky industry should be moving away from cork, if they care about the quality of their products, just like winemakers around the world are increasingly moving away from cork.

Now, you'll be wondering why we (Compass Box) still use cork.  First, I'll say that our long term plan is to move to screw cap (unless a better option comes along).  Secondly, I should say I used synthetic cork when I first started the company, but was faced with the two issues above. 

So, why still use cork?  The economics of being a small company.  To move to screw cap, we would have to pay many tens of thousands of pounds to design and create molds for a custom screw cap, given the bottle we use.  We simply cannot afford that.  So, we will move to a screw cap or better alternative in the future, when we can afford it.

For a big company brand, the switch would be considered cheap and no big deal.  And here's the kicker:  screw caps (after amortising the cost of design and molds and bottling line change parts...no biggy for a big brand) are CHEAPER than corks!  (Assuming you haven't designed a screwcap out of marble or some such thing!). 

The problem for big brands, is what I stated at top: consumer perception.  They're scared.  And so far there is no super premium malt brand willing to take this chance.  We will, one day...

Marty Duffy concurs:

A screw top would, I believe, take some of the romance out of it, which is why they have stayed with it for so long in the first place. But the use of cork may change in the future.  Like wines, they are finding that screw tops may actually work better than cork - plus cork is getting rare & expensive.

I had so much good input, I've split this into a two-part story. Stay tuned for next week's installment when we talk to Ian Millar about Glenfiddich's plans for the future, as well as the Sales Manager from Amorim...a provider of corks to the Scotch industry...

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Thanks to Jimmy Robertson (Morrison-Bowmore), Jim McEwan & Mark Reynier (Bruichladdich), John Glaser (Compass Box), Marty Duffy (Diageo), Dave Robertson (JMR), Graham Eunson, (Glenmorangie), Ian Millar (Glenfiddich), Deborah Guimaraens (Amorim) and Neil Macdonald (Chivas Brothers) for their input.

Johnnie Blue go bye-bye?

    Over on Whisky 101 (The reader-participation sister site of The Scotch Blog), Dean from Australia asked this interesting question:

One of the bartenders I work with recently asked me if Johnnie Walker Blue was being discontinued. I have no idea where he got it from but he said that he heard it was no longer being produced??

This is the first time I've heard that particular rumor.

A little background
Blue Label has been around for years, though only recently has there been a big marketing push to capture the mind-share (and market-share) of the ultra-premium blend drinker. This push was apparently designed to coincide with Johnnie Walker's 200th birthday.

Originally introduced in 1992, Johnnie Blue was created to:

...evoke the character of Walker whiskies from the  early 19th century  by using a blend  of aged, mellow whisky with younger malts and grains.

It's important to note that although the label of Johnnie Walker Blue does not include an age statement, Blue definitely contains some old and rare whiskies. I understand there are 16 different single malts and grain whiskies that go into the blend - but how old the youngest one is, is anyone's guess.

Now back to the question

Discontinuing Blue? This didn't seem right to me. If you were under the impression that the product was brand new you might believe that Diageo saw Blue as a noble, but expensive and failed, marketing experiment and wanted to cut their losses after not seeing a return on the marketing investment.

But, as I said, JW Blue has been around for a while - and I don't believe that Diageo thinks of their current marketing campaign as "wasted."

Consider this - they have successfully positioned Blue as the "Cadillac of Blends" (feel free to replace "Cadillac" with any appropriate status symbol). Consider also the "Halo Effect" - someone says "Gosh I can't afford $200 for the Blue, but I'll spend $25 on the Red or $35 on the Black." Advertising the Blue is really an advertisement for the whole JW line.

But I have no insider knowledge. So, when I have questions about Johnnie Walker I turn to Spike McClure. Spike is one of the Masters of Scotch Knowledge - an ambassador for the Classic Malts and the Johnnie Walker line.

Here's what Spike had to say:

Kevin,

Johnnie Walker Blue Label isn't going anywhere.  Unlike single malts which can fall pray to their own success--selling out all of the available matured stock of a certain malt-- blends are always combined from scratch to recreate the original characteristics of the label.  If any single component of a blend is unavailable, the blender can finesse the entire composition to include other malts which will replace the lost malt.  This is the art of blending. 

The large volume of old stock created by the "Whisky Loch" of over production some years ago will give the blenders of Blue Label enough rare malts to work with for many years (understanding that as the years pass, younger malts are maturing into the "old and rare" range as we go.)  Indeed, managing the rare malts to guarantee sufficient stock for JWB is vital part of maintaining the blend.  As long as whisky continues to be produced in Scotland, there will be old and rare Scotch whisky.  Scotch is a renewable resource.  Thank God.

Spike

There you go, Johnnie Blue is alive and well and will continue to occupy liquor cabinets in mansions for the foreseeable future!

The air in there

A while ago a reader asked about the use of a Vacu-Vin pump to help preserve his Scotch and limit the effects of oxidation once a bottle of whisky has been opened.

What is a Vacu-Vin, you ask? Read on Grasshopper.

The one and only, original Vacu-Vin, used in more than 10 million homes worldwide, is the easiest, most affordable way to preserve opened wines. The Vacu-Vin pump removes the air (and the oxygen that spoils wine) from opened bottles. Place it over the reusable stopper and pump out the air.

We do use one for wine on that rare occassion when we don't drain the bottle, but to be honest, I'd never thought about using it for Scotch.

I finally remembered to ask Brett Pontoni, the very knowledgable Spirits buyer for the Chicago-based Binny's Beverage Depot about this. Here's what Brett had to say:

They are effective, with one caveat - you need to periodically pump them to eliminate any air that might have seeped in. 

Hard alcohol lasts considerably longer in the bottle than wine, so there is less need for a Vacu-Vin in bottles which are 2/3 or more  full (these won't deteriorate...at least not as rapidly).

Once you get to 1/2 to 2/3 full, I always recommend trying to finish the bottle within a year or so.  Using a Vacu-Vin would extend that time.

So, the answer is yes...pick one up and extend the shelf life of your precious Aqua Vitae.

You can buy a Vacu-Vin with 2 stoppers from Binny's for $11.99. That's cheaper than Amazon.com, and you'll be supporting a friend of The Scotch Blog.

You can pick up additional stoppers at Amazon, where they sell 4 for $9. I picked up some extras at my local Total Wine & More for $3.99 for a 2 pack. - I'm sure you have a wine megastore near you as well.

If you live in or visit the Chicagoland area be sure to check out Binny's, they've got 16 locations, so you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one.

They also do a fair clip in mail-order - as far as I can tell they were the first guys in the country to get the Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Brett definitely has the inside track on new stuff.

A free The Scotch Blog T-Shirt goes to Matt Jablow of Kentucky, for asking the question...

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UPDATE 12/05/2005

Regarding the use of "Private Preserve" Wine Preserver, as asked by Matt, here's Brett Pontoni's response:

It's Nitrogen gas, which is inert and commonly used for wine (it's heavier than air, so it sits on top of the liquid and forces the oxygen out.)  It's perfectly fine to use for scotch, but probably overkill.

Through the Tasting Glass

I get a lot of suggestions from people for stories that I should write.

Kevin, how about a story on Irish Whiskey?

Hmm. Nothing wrong with Irish Whiskey. It's great in a Car Bomb*, but it's just not my thing.

But Ronnie Cox, the Director at The Glenrothes had a great suggestion:

Good to meet you Kevin. I believe you are starting something very interesting with your Scotch Blog. One of the key subjects that needs higher profiling is the glass type. As in most countries the tumbler is associated with whiskey. Need to tell people that to really appreciate Malt Whisky we need some sort of tulip shape to take the image correctly from one of drinking to one of savouring.

I do briefly mention the use of the proper glass in my book:

The glass favored by blended whisky drinkers is a short, cylindrical tumbler, usually referred to as a scotch or “rocks” glass. This type of glass is fine for tasting a blend with some ice, but is completely unsuited for the subtlety of malt whisky.

A tulip-shaped tasting glass is ideal for single malt, but if all you can get your hands on is a sherry or brandy glass, either will work just as well.

The tumbler/rocks glass does nothing to enhance the whisky drinking experience, instead it is simply a glass that is readily available at bars, restaurants, and in the average home.

The picture above is The Glencairn Glass, a very popular whisky tasting glass designed specifically for the Scotch whisky industry and introduced in 2001.

Glencairn's description:

The glass was designed with a tapered mouth to focus the aroma while at the same time being open enough to make it easy to drink from. This was married to a robust base that is comfortable in the hand and allow gentle warming of the liquid to open it up, resulting in a stylish attractive glass, a base to keep the hand clear of the liquid and it has no cuts or decoration that would obscure the colour while at the same time being easy to drink from.

If you don't have a proper tasting glass, you really need to get one. Ronnie's point is well taken.

David Wishart, Author of Whisky Classified:

To truly savor all that a single malt has to offer, the proper shape is of the utmost importance.
The nosing glass used in the whisky industry is tulip shaped like a sherry glass with a narrow mouth...The narrow mouth is important for containing the aroma that rises from the whisky, so that when we nose it we get the maximum fragrance.

Many restaurants and bars don't (or can't) carry the appropriate drinking vessel for every beverage, but you are really cutting your experience in half if you accept a single malt Scotch in a rocks glass from a restaurant or bar.

If I am trying a Scotch at a nice restaurant, I can be very demanding. And at $10-$20 per dram, why shouldn't I be? Sometime though, I just test the bartender.

The first thing I do is look at the Scotch menu. If it has less than ten bottles on it, I know I'll have to be specific, because chances are good that they don't get a lot of Scotch orders. I'm never surprised to see that one or more of the distillery's names have been misspelled. I always point it out to the bartender.

Then I order. Now I know a lot of the distilleries have interesting, sometimes hard-to-pronounce names, but I never fail to be amused when I order one, and the bartender doesn't understand me:

Kevin: I'll have the La-froyg
Ignorant bartender: Huh?
Kevin: The La-froyg, that one (pointing to Laphroaig)
Ignorant bartender: Oh is that how you say it?

Or when the bartender incorrectly corrects me:

Kevin: I'll have the Glen-fid-ick
Smarmy bartender: You mean Glen-fidd-itch?
Kevin: Yes, but it's pronounced Glen-fid-ick
Smarmy bartender: No it's not.
Kevin: Whatever.
Smarmy bartender: You want that on ice?
Kevin: Check, please.

But when I don't feel like training the bar staff for free, I get straight to the point:

I'll have the Macallan 18, neat, with a small glass of room temperature water on the side. If you don't have a whisky tasting glass, I'll have that in a brandy snifter. Thanks.

You'd be surprised at the street-cred you'll get from a good bartender when you know how to order.

But more importantly you'll experience Scotch the proper way, with a glass that allows you to aerate the whisky, a glass that concentrates the bouquet, and a glass that makes it tough to fit an ice cube into.
----------------------------
Irish Car Bomb*

Ingredients:
8 oz Guinness stout
1 oz Bailey's Irish cream
1 oz Irish Whiskey (Jameson's)

Mixing instructions:
Combine the Bailey's and Whiskey in a shot glass.
Drop shot glass into beer.
Drink immediately.