Rum tasting glass question

[rum-monkey]

Hi Capn!
I just wanted to thank you for the rum tasting glass recommendation I found in the Rum Project's "Tasting and Glasses" section. After trying a bunch (Glencairn and others) I went with your suggestion of a balloon type wine glass. You were completely right about it: somehow the tasting experience with those seems to be fuller. I'm not really good at tasting descriptions but there is just more of the experience.

Let me tell you though, it wasn't easy to find one. Well, I mean, I saw a bunch in stores but all of them were huge. Way too big for this purpose. I don't know what the infatuation is with 20 oz wine glasses. In any case I found some smaller ones in a TJ Maxx store and bought two. Wanted to get all four they had but the wife was looking at me funny, and we know what that means. She later broke one of them so I was left with just the one, which became my most prized possession at the time. Luckily, during a visit to a thrift store, I found a couple of nice ones. Better yet, they were somewhat smaller so I think even better for this. Then, in a couple of days I found a couple more in another thrift store. What coincidence!

What I am curious about, though, since it is impossible to find the Optimol you suggested or any information about it, how big is it? I think a good way to determine that would be to measure how much water it holds: put it on a digital scale, zero it and carefully fill with water until it is level with the brim, without the meniscus. Here is a picture of the ones I have
Their capacities are (from left to right; the right one is the original one I got):
362 g
238 g
266 g

Would you be able to provide this info for the Optimol glass you have?

[Capn Jimbo]

So sorry for the delay. I no longer have that prized glass, but just like a cognac snifter is much smaller than a typical wine glass, the optimol was likewise a small glass, about the size of a small apple. Judge for yourself. I'm pretty sure I covered the issues which were having a smaller glass, just right for examining a shot of rum or other spirit. Frankly, I don't like the famous Glencairn, or even a sherry copita - although they capture aromas, the "chimney" makes them hard to get to when nosing.

OTOH the Optimol still captures aroma, but in my opinion allows the aroma to disperse more, thus allowing me to nose high, medium, and low and obtain a fuller impression of the spirit. The Optimol held less than a sherry snifter, which is fine as you're only examining a shot at a time. The goal is tasting and evaluating, not drinking.

[rum-monkey]

All right! Even without the exact measurements this description is helpful. I think the two smaller ones are in the ballpark even if slightly bigger. I'll be on the lookout in my thrift store visits, as one never knows what can be found there!

I don't have a copita but agreed on the Glencairn: probably great for whisky but, at least to me, rum, across all of its varieties, offers much more in the aroma department making the balloon one a winner here. And, like you said, it just makes it easier to get at them with the nose. For me it's almost like diving into it without actually getting wet. And then, of course, the mouth completes the experience.

Yeah, the small amount of rum in my original, bigger glass looked insignificant, perhaps taking something away from the experience. Because, of course, while we don't taste with the eyes, it's the first sense I engage with the object and I'm sure that what we see affects the overall experience, even if subconsciously.

Thanks!

[Capn Jimbo]

Yah mon... I do agree, and I really miss that Ikea Optimol glass. It was pure perfection, and if you go to the main site you'll see why:

https://rumproject.com/menuitem3.html

This was a HUGE project and we both researched and tested all manner of shapes and sizes. The Optimol was by far the best for us.