One of the keys to making great cocktails and serving alcohol is a cold glass. In fact, chilling your glasses is one of the first things that you can do when serving alcoholic drinks to enhance the drinking experience.
Pouring alcohol into a pre-chilled glass helps make the drink stays cool for a longer time.
While it is not necessary to chill whiskey glasses, it is recommended to do so as it improves the taste and feel.
Here Is Why You Chill Whiskey Glasses
When whiskey is chilled, the flavor tends to be duller. This can improve the drinking experience. Chilled glasses help the whiskey stay crisp and cool longer, compared to if you would put ice in the glass.
Do Fine Restaurants Chill Whiskey Glasses?
Some fine dining restaurants chill whiskey glasses, and some do not. It all depends on the restaurants and how they prefer to serve whiskey and cocktails.
There are some restaurants and bars that serve whiskey in chilled glasses. Some do not normally serve whiskey with ice.
Some restaurants and bars even do both.
They serve the whiskey with ice and in a chilled glass.
Out of these three ways of serving whiskey, it is the third one that works better. It does the job of keeping the whiskey cool and at an ideal temperature.
Plus the chilled glass prevents the ice from melting too quickly, so it doesn’t water down the whiskey.
How Do You Chill Whiskey Glasses Effectively?
There are a few ways to chill whiskey glasses effectively.
It is a simple procedure that does not require any fancy freezers or kitchen appliances.
1) Freeze the glass.
Out of all the methods to chill whiskey glasses, this is the one that is preferred by many.
This is also the easiest.
All you need to do is to put the glasses in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. You can put them in the freezer for up to two hours, and then take them out before you start serving the drink.
If you do not have enough space in your freezer to chill your whiskey glasses, you can simply put the glasses in the part of your fridge that gets the coldest. Ideally in the part that is closest to the freezer.
You may just have to move some things around your fridge, but it does not take a lot of effort.
2) Place ice inside the glass.
If you are pressed for time, just take several pieces of ice and place them inside the glass. Let the ice sit there for a few minutes.
This is a good and effective way to chill the glass if you do not have a lot of time to do it. Just make sure that you fill the glass with ice so it becomes chilled entirely.
3) Use a cold wet paper towel.
This is another method you can use when you do not have enough time to chill your glasses. Or when you do not have a lot of ice cubes.
Simply take a paper towel and wet it with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water, wrap the paper towel around the glass, and place it inside the fridge or freezer.
This method will chill the glass evenly in less than ten minutes. It can even do the job in three to five minutes if you opt for the freezer.
What Is the Optimal Temperature When Serving Whiskey?
When serving whiskey, it is ideal to do so at room temperature, which is ideally between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius, or 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is when whiskey will be at its most optimal taste.
This goes for all types of whiskey:
- Scotch
- Irish
- Japanese Whiskey
- and Bourbon.
If you are living in a warm country, then it would be best for you to cool your whiskey down.
The best way to do this is by storing your whiskey in a cool place or storage area, instead of serving it with ice. The ice, when melted, tends to water down the whiskey which affects its taste in a bad way.
Alternatively, you can pre-chill your glasses so you can have them handy and ready for use whenever you will be serving or drinking whiskey.
Can All Whiskey Glasses Go in the Freezer?
Most whiskey glasses can go in the freezer as long as they are made of borosilicate glass or tempered glass. These glass materials are durable and can handle any type of thermal stress.
Crystal glasses do not go in the freezer.
This is because they tend to be thin, and they have the tendency to crack when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Before putting any glassware in the freezer, always check the label if it is safe to put them in the freezer, or if they can handle extreme temperatures.
What drinks are served ice cold in whiskey glasses?
Apart from whiskey, there are lots of drinks that you can serve ice cold in whiskey glasses.
Whiskey glasses can be used to serve whiskey-based cocktails. Here are some of these cocktails that can be served ice cold in whiskey glasses:
- Old Fashioned – This is a traditional whiskey cocktail mixed with bitters and soda water on ice. It is usually garnished with a slice of orange.
- Whiskey Sour – This is another traditional whiskey-based cocktail served ice cold. It uses Bourbon, mixed with lemon juice, bitters, sugar syrup, fresh egg white, and lemon zest.
- Rob Roy – This is a cocktail that uses Scotch whiskey mixed with red vermouth, angostura bitters, and orange zest. It is served with ice and often garnished with a cocktail cherry.
- Penicillin – This cocktail has whiskey mixed with honey, ginger, and lemon. It is served ice cold and is garnished with a lemon wedge.
- Godfather – This is a simple yet sophisticated cocktail made by mixing whiskey and amaretto. It is served with ice and garnished with an orange peel.
There are also some non-whiskey-based cocktails that you can serve ice cold in whiskey classes.
- Negroni – This is an Italian cocktail, made of gin, Vermouth Rosso and Campari, garnished with orange peel. It is considered an aperitif or a pre-dinner cocktail. It is traditionally stirred and served over ice.
- White Russian – This cocktail is made with vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream, and is best-served ice cold.
- Black Russian – This is a cocktail made with vodka and coffee liqueur. It is poured over ice and stirred gently.
- Rum and Coke – While this is normally a highball drink, some places serve them in whiskey glasses. This is a classic cocktail that is made of rum and coke, with some lemon juice. It is normally served with ice.
- Caipirinha – This cocktail originated in Brazil. It is made with cachaça, sugar, and lime, and served ice cold.
Can You Put Whiskey In the Fridge?
There are some people who put whiskey in the fridge. While it is perfectly okay to do so out of preference, it is actually best to keep it out of the fridge.
Whiskey is best served and enjoyed at room temperature. Putting it in the fridge will have no benefits, but it can mute the flavors and aromas of the whiskey.
As with other alcoholic drinks, the aroma is a big part of the drinking experience.
If you put the whiskey in the fridge, the cold temperature will make the flavors dull. It does not necessarily make the whiskey go bad. But if you refrigerate your whiskey, you would have to wait for a couple of minutes after pouring it into a glass before you can start drinking it.
This is so the whiskey warms up to room temperature, where it is at its most optimal.
When serving whiskey, just keep in mind that it does not have to be ice cold. They are best enjoyed at room temperature, so you only need to chill your glasses just enough to cool your whiskey down.
Sources:
How To Chill Glassware When Mixing Drinks
Which Glass For Which Drink? Using Correct Types Of Glassware