Smokehead Partners with Elliot Walker to Produce a One-of-a-Kind Whisky Glass

Updated Dec. 19, 2023

The winning glass, as voted on by Smokehead whisky fans is the Smoke Mask (nicknamed the Gasmask, for obvious reasons, see image below). Residents of the U.K. the Netherlands, and Germany can enter to win one of these limited edition works of art on the Smokehead Whisky website.

Multi-award winning Smokehead has partnered with Elliot Walker, winner of season 2 of the Netflix glass blowing competition ‘Blown Away.’ The goal is to produce a unique whisky glass that breaks the mold of what a whisky glass should be to create something truly new and unique to appeal to todays varied whisky drinker.

Who is Drinking Whisky Today?

The stereotypical whisky drinker is an older white guy, sitting in his basement drinking Seagrams, or Johnnie Walker Black. 30 years ago, whisky went through a slump, partly because the younger generation did not want to be associated with drinking what their fathers or grandfathers drank. Whisky was an old man's drink.

Today, however, whisky drinkers come from all walks of life, and they are getting younger. Millennials and women are making up a larger percentage of today's whisky drinkers. Distillery trails are growing, and people are flocking to distilleries all over the country to do tours and tastings.

New distilleries are popping up everywhere, and they are designing their distilleries to be a destination, with tours, food, and tasting experiences to draw in visitors from around the world, eager to experience some fine whisky, and see how it's made.

Older, established distilleries are adding, or redesigning visitor centers to appeal to a younger demographic.

What are They Drinking Whiskey From?

When you think of a whisky glass the first thing that usually comes to mind is the traditional Glencairn glass, or possibly a Norlan whisky glass or some other tulip shaped, or similar glassware with a wide base and flared top.

Whisky tasting glasses are all similar because they are designed to enhance the nose, and flavor of the whisky. The wide base not only allows you to see and appreciate the whiskey's color, but also let's the whiskey spread out, increasing the surface area and exposing more of the whiskey to air, releasing more flavor and aroma. The tulip shape neck concentrates those aromas on the nose, enhancing the entire tasting experience.

The good folks at Smokehead seem to think that's a little boring, and the design is in need of a makeover.

A New Glass for Today's Whisky Drinker

Through Smokehead’s partnership with Elliot Walker, they hope to create something truly new, and unique, that appeals to today’s whisky drinker. Elliot has designed 3 very unique, and different glasses.

Have a look at Elliot's glasses below that totally break the mold when you think of what a whisky glass should be.

The Gasmask

Wow, I've never seen anything like this before. The gasmask is a black glass in the shape of a gasmask to fit the profile of your face so you can get your nose right into the glass and take in all that smoke on the nose. This whisky glass is reminiscent of a black gasmask, and makes you think of smoke, what else? For a company called Smokehead that produces smokey whiskies, what could be more appropriate than a whisky glass that enhances the smoky flavor and aroma?

Heart of Ice

This glass is designed with an insert in the center of the glass to hold ice. Many people like their Scotch on the rocks, so this gives the cooling effect without watering the whisky down, ingenious. This glass may not be what you're looking for for a whisky tasting, where some people recommend that you warm the whisky with your hand to release more of it's flavors, but it may be just the thing after a  long day at work.

Vapour Chamber

The Vapour Chamber is arguably the most beautiful of the glasses here. It's a work of art. The black glass with the silver detail is stunning, and the lid with the handle looks like a whisky drop, created by dropping whisky into the glass.

This design also goes against common whisky tasting guidelines which suggest you should let the whisky sit for a few minutes to let some of the vapours disperse to reduce the burn, and allow the more subtle flavors of the whisky to shine through.

This glass will have none of that. Keep the lid on until you're ready to take it all in.

Who is Elliot Walker?

Elliot Walker is a British sculptor and glass blower who’s best known for winning season 2 of the Netflix series ‘Blown Away.’ He graduated from Bangor University with a degree in psychology, before taking up glassmaking at the Glass Quarter in Stourbridge.

Elliot worked for 8 years under Peter Layton before opening his own studio. He works almost exclusively with molten glass using the Masselo technique which, according to https://murano.net involves “full, not blown glass, processed under heat by modelling a block of glassy mass applied over the tip of a metal rod,” and has won several awards in the U.K.

Who Makes Smokehead?

Smokehead is a brand of Scotch produced by Ian Macleod distillers out of Broxburn, Scotland. Described by Ian Macleod Distillers as an “assault on your senses,” Smokehead is designed to appeal to lovers of Islay Scotch that “refuse to conform to the rules of normal whisky drinking.” What those rules are, I’m not sure.

Smokehead is Rebellious

Smokehead is created to appeal to lovers of heavily smoked whiskies and this glass is designed to appeal to those whisky drinkers. Smokehead has won numerous awards in the last few years including a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2023, Gold at the International Spirits Challenge 2023 and Silver at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) for Smokehead Sherry Cask Blast.

Elliot has designed 3 very different glasses, and fans of Smokehead whisky will be able to vote on their favourite through Smokehead’s website and social media channels throughout the summer.

Smokehead’s Mikey Sim, Chief Smokehead, states: “Our partnership with Elliot Walker has been truly exciting, and will allow us to bring another element of Smokehead to whisky aficionados worldwide. Getting to know Elliot’s creative process has shown how aligned we are in our brilliantly rebellious attitudes, daring to be different and breaking through the moulds of convention. This project enables us to stay true to our ethos that Smokehead never limits the ways its whisky can be enjoyed. We can’t wait for the glass to launch later this year, and hope it will be so aspirational that drinkers of other malts will be enticed to use it too.”

Elliot Walker, Glassblower, says: “It’s a real honor to partner with Smokehead on this creative project, as a brand who is leading the charge on innovation within the whisky category and is unafraid of breaking boundaries, just like I am with my sculptures. I’m a huge fan of Smokehead and so it’s an exciting challenge to create a bespoke item that matches the brand’s rebellious and innovative nature - not only should it make a bold statement but it needs to be functional and enhance the drinking experience.”

Once a winner is chosen, Elliot will produce a very limited run of the winning glass this fall which will be available for purchase through the Smokehead website. Right now you can see and vote for your favorite glass on the Pick Your Winning Glass page of the Smokehead website.

This glass is set to become a collectible, and fans of Smokehead will have the chance to win a glass in a competition starting in October.