Thursday 10 November 2016

Small Glasses



There are certain things that I always buy at boot sales or antique shops.

I do like old white tin-glazed 'country' plates, soup tureens, bowls, etc.  I also like antique glasses (nothing too fancy).

These very small glasses above always attract my attention, and invariably demand to come home with me.

I'm not sure what they would have been used for exactly, but I imagine they were for Eau de Vie or something equally as strong.

I've never actually used one, but I may do so for my tiny tot of pre-bedtime Scotch on cold nights.

They would hold just the right amount; a thimble full.


And this is my newly discovered Whisky glass. I'd completely forgotten about it. Amazing what one finds at the back of cupboards.





55 comments:

  1. Have been served Geneva, not sure of spelling it's Dutch gin, in similar sized glasses, to be thrown back in one shot.

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    Replies
    1. Any strong spirit would be ideal for them. Probably used here for Eau de vie de Prune. I have other glasses which are for Pruneaux à l'eau de vie which hold both the Prune and the liquid (I'll show these at a later date).

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  2. Nice collection. Looks like ours because we've broken so many and one of each set has remained over the years. I like odd things

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  3. Replies
    1. I think they'd be too small for Sherry (which you hardly ever see on sale here).

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  4. I think they are cordial glasses.

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    Replies
    1. Quite possibly. Whatever their original intention, they were designed by the Temperance brigade.

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  5. I inherited a set of similar little glasses, with matching pear-shaped bottle, from my mother in law. The bottle has a fancy glass top. Italian people offered "Rosolio" in them - rose petal liqueur as a welcome and as for luck.
    Grapa is served in small glasses too, but do not have the stem.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. Grapa is the Italian version of Eau de Vie, and no doubt drunk in very small amounts.

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    2. Cro, I looked up Rosolio: it is the Italian for cordial. Also Rosolio means - dew of the sun - from modern Latin ros solis.
      X

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    3. Some drinks have wonderful names. Dew of the Sun, and water of life, being two classics.

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  6. I've given up collecting things unless I have a use for them (which allows me to collect books, music and art!)

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    Replies
    1. William Morris advised that we should have nothing in our homes that isn't either beautiful or useful. I'm afraid that I've rather ignored his good advice.

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  7. I used to enjoy a Ricard but not in a glass like these. No stem for a Ricard or even a schnapps.

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    Replies
    1. I have plenty of Ricard glasses, and use them often. Ricard (and it must be Ricard) is a favourite in Summer.

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  8. Is the one in the centre from the Picardie range? The Ricard glasses have to be kept on their own and not allowed to pollute other drinks. Pre France we used a small glass as a Ricard measure.

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    Replies
    1. No, but it's the same simple design. I try not to use a measure when pouring Ricard!!

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  9. I like your glasses, and I have the middle one and the similar but narrower one to it's right. We use them for drinking Limoncello as a digestif, and keep the bottle in the fridge as it taste nicer when cold.

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    1. I've looked all over for a bottle of Limoncello, but no luck. The French are very reluctant to sell anything 'foreign'.

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    2. Make your own, Cro. You're good at that sort of thing. I've made it and it was very nice. Lots of recipes on the internet.

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    3. What a good idea; I hadn't thought of it.

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    4. Just had a look; it seems very simple. I'll give it a go. Thanks.

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    5. I see the ghostly spirit of Guy Fawkes in your whisky glass. And I haven't even been drinking. There's a Famous Grouse tumbler around here someplace but I've no idea where . . . (hic!)

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    6. I once ordered 2 limoncellos in Italy for me and H.I. The waitress whispered in my ear to say that limoncello is not drunk by men. Same with coffee - real men only drink esspressos after 9.00am.

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    7. I can't imagine real men like Hulk Hogan and Mike Tyson fiddling with an espresso before or even after 9am. Normally in Italy it's a limoncello for the lady and a grappa for the man, but if you've had fish you might go for a limoncello. Nothing wrong in that. I sometimes have a coffee-grappa after 9am.

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  10. Nicely arranged Still Life Cro!

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    Replies
    1. I was just hoping to show what each was like; not very successfully.

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  11. My corner cabinet is full of all kinds of glasses - so I give them a miss. I shall now look at them with new eyes.

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    Replies
    1. I've just found a perfect Whiskey glass that I'd completely forgotten about. I buy things and just put them away.

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  12. Replies
    1. They are nice, aren't they (apart from the one at the very back).

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  13. In England, glasses of that size are called Gin Glasses, but that doesn't stop anything else from being poured into them. During the Jacobite rebellion, whisky was not legally drunk in England, and the Scots drank a lot of smuggled French Brandy, just to piss-off the English. Noble households drank whisky from tall, conical glasses in the 18th century, and wouldn't have touched gin.

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    1. I imagine they would be 'spirit' glasses in any country; probably Cognac, or Eau de Vie, over here. A teaspoon contains 5 mls, so these would probably contain about 20 mls.

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    2. The one in the middle looks English to me, but the others are unmistakably French 'bistro' ones.

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  14. Re the latest glass: Has it got a 'lemon-squeezer' base?

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    Replies
    1. Yes. A cut star pattern. Perfect for two fingers of single malt (no ice).

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    2. In that case it is an English press-moulded tumbler dating from around 1850. They copied the cut glass tumblers which were more expensive.

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  15. Fun to see these pretty glasses and to imagine how to fill them. Cro, I've had home made lemoncello and it was really good. Although I've never made it myself, my friend says it's easy.
    I've been looking at antique glasses at various markets and charity shops for decades, but never bought any. No place to put them...unless, I de-accession some of my Duralex.
    Best wishes.

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    1. When I bought the above glasses, they were still very cheap. However, I still use the Duralex for every day.

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    2. I admit that I do have some tiny Waterford glasses that were supposedly for sherry, but easily hold a tiny bit of other liquids.
      Thank you for the single malt suggestion over at Tom's place.

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  16. Isn't it marvelous to imagine all the fingers and lips that have caressed these glasses?

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    1. I quite expect they spent most of their lives at the back of cupboards; as they do today. They should be used more.

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  17. Hi Cro, I've just packed and stored several dozen of those old-fashioned glasses. Some had the grape pattern on them. I could have sealed and posted them to you instead!

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    1. I presume the grape pattern is engraved; they could be worth good money.

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  18. Old small glasses are a weakness of mine. I can't resist them if I come across them in a charity shop or the like. Very few match and I use them for home made "liquers"- Damson gin, limoncello, Cassis and one I do with rum and spices. Don't have a special glass for whisky, any will do, as being a common heathen I drink mine with ice, so it just needs to be big enough for that.

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    1. You sound as if you have the same mania as me, although I would never dilute Whiskey.

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  19. A friend of mine said that the patron of a bar might give the customers a freebie drink, and would serve in tiny glasses so he wouldn't give too much away!

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    1. A wise person. He might also tap on the window with a feather if you should leave your wallet behind.

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  20. After the US election, I am only using big glasses.

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    1. Drowning your sorrows sounds much wiser than rioting.

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  21. I do love our small Looney Bin house but there are times when I miss my collections. My set of over 200 butter plates which of course I never used because who only uses 1 small pat of butter? Not this farmgirl. Love that little whiskey glass. If I used glasses it would be one like that.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to tonight. Glasses just have to be right for each job.

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