While the ever ubiquitous Glencairn glass seems to own the whiskey market by volume, there’s something to be said for the design-focused products of tasting glassmaker Norlan. Case in point: the recently releases Drave Water Pipette and Carafe.
You won’t be drinking from these items: rather, they’re whiskey devotee’s equivalent of tabletop lighter and ashtray: high-form accessories to enhance the quality and style of your experience. In short: it’s a really, really fancy upgrade to that plastic straw you’re probably using.
In 2015, Kickstarter helped launch Norlan’s elevated Whiskey Glass as the brain child of Sruli Recht, Brian Fichtner, and Shane Bahng, with a “brand focused on modernizing the whiskey drinking experience through design, science, and ritual.” These themes are threaded through the launch of their two newest products within their Drave Series: a water adding pipette and aesthetically hypnotizing carafe.
“Drave” is derived from the Old Scottish word “ to draw” alluding to the pipettes ability to pull water with the intention of altering and enhancing the aroma of the whiskey and brightening the flavor of the spirit with a few drops of water. Norlan’s goal with the new set, as with the construction of their glasses, is to help you maintain control of your most precious liquid “The whiskey tasting experience [is] dramatically improved when the alcohol present in your spirit isn’t allowed to rule the show,” they explain. “When you add water to the whisky… you can open up flavors and aromas that may have been suppressed by the alcohol.” Iceland-based designer Sruli Recht incorporates modernist design with hand crafted creation methods.
The details:
Pipette: Designed to measure 1 ml of water to distribute to whiskey sitting in a Norlan Whisky Glass. The recommended dilution is 10% with two measures from the pipette for a 20 ml pour or four measures for a 40 ml pour. The square aluminum profile envelopes a vacuum bore with small depressions on the end for your fingertips for you to hold the pipette with ease and draw from the carafe.
Carafe: A product of hand crafted processes including mouth blown lead-free glass, diamond wheel cutting, sanding, polishing, and oiling, the carafe stands as an impressive fixture complimenting the set and experience.
The Drave set is priced at $350, while the pipette by itself is $65 and can be purchased online on Norlan’s Website.
The price is a bit stiff, but think of the turtles.
