A very useful and unique glass tasting glass once you get used to it.
Notes: The Neat (TM) Glass is an interesting idea or concept – stripping away the alcohol vapors ( sometime they can really get in the way of a sensory evaluation) while allowing you to taste the other component of s particular spirit.
Appearance: Rather short, almost squat glass – looks a bit like a flattened out spittoon really or a small flower vase. Nice, brilliant crystal with a decent but not overly big base/bottom to it.
First Impression: Fits the hand well, hard to tip over, reasonably robust feel to it.
Testing: Really does remove the alcohol vapors quite a bit when nosing and tasting, allowing you to concentrate on all the other aspects of a particular spirit and lets you enjoy and or evaluate all the other facets without the alcohol overlaying or interfering with your nosing – quite remarkable!
Other: Be sure to follow the filling directions or you may put too little spirit in and shortchange yourself in terms of nosing. Also glass is somewhat fragile but less fragile than a Riedel tasting glass or even a standard Martini glass – In short it has a rim so respect it by not banging it against something else. I also found that you could upend a copita glass into the NEAT glass to seal it if you had to walk away for a few minutes from a tasting and it sealed both glasses better than a watch crystal ( the usual cover for a tasting glass. Also the back and forth use of both glasses means nothing escaped our notice about a spirit . The nosing experience between the two was both amazing and complimentary. It is important to read the directions – especially about the filling of enough spirits to get a proper nosing.
Final Thoughts: A very odd but ultimately useful glass for any professional spirits evaluation. While no glass seems to be perfect, and all have relative merits, this glass is a must have as part of your armamentarium of sensory tools.
Website: http://www.theneatglass.com
Quite an extensive website on glasses, nosing and tasting science, technique, and a number of related subjects – well worth a visit !
