Silver Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design · 2024
The Niall Cognac Glass
by Tiago Russo and Katia Martins
- A' Design Award 2024 Silver Winner in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: Milesians Craft Glassware Co.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 55,080
- Verification code C673437D45 · Verify this award
About The Niall Cognac Glass
The Niall is a cognac glass designed to improve nosing and tasting. The glass is made of soda-lime glass, a material that absorbs ethanol vapour from the liquid. A conical depression at the base, named the Vortex Point, controls the flow of the poured spirit and creates a swirl. The bulb curves in and out to slow the rising vapour, giving the glass walls more time to absorb it. A thick base and an elevated stem allow a comfortable grip without warming the drink. Reduced ethanol vapour lets the drinker sense more of the aroma and flavour.
Within the distinguished tradition of functional object design that elevates everyday rituals into moments of aesthetic contemplation, Tiago Russo's The Niall Cognac Glass emerges as a refined meditation on the intersection of craft heritage and contemporary sensibility. The work demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how vessel form shapes sensory experience, with the generous balloon silhouette calibrated to concentrate aromatic complexity while the graceful stem provides optimal handling for temperature-sensitive spirits. This design participates in a centuries-long conversation about the phenomenology of drinking vessels, wherein shape, proportion, and material conspire to transform consumption into ceremony. The copper-toned rim accent introduces a subtle material counterpoint that suggests awareness of metalwork traditions often paired with glassware in historical contexts, while maintaining the purity of the transparent bowl that allows full appreciation of the liquid's chromatic depth. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of functional requirements with visual poetry: the proportional relationship between bowl volume and rim diameter appears precisely calculated to optimize aromatic delivery, while the stem height and base diameter ensure stable handling. The presentation context, photographed against dramatically lit figured wood, positions the design within a material ecosystem that honors natural substances and artisanal processes. One might observe how the composition invites extended looking, encouraging viewers to trace the play of light through liquid and glass, to appreciate the subtle gradations of amber and gold, and to contemplate the transformation of raw materials—sand into crystal, grape into spirit, tree into surface—that culminates in this moment of refined pleasure. What rituals of appreciation might such an object inspire, and how does considered design amplify our capacity for sensory engagement?
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The design of the glassware plays on gravity and geometry to enhance the absorption of the ethanol vapour into the soda-lime glass. At the base of the glass, a conical-shaped depression sits, waiting for the whiskey to be poured, controlling the flow. The bulb design complements and encourages this dissipation, by creating a chamber and more wall space for the ethanol vapour to be transferred to, whilst a thick base and stem allow a comfortable grip without heating the liquid.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- In order to enhance the shaping and drinking experience, soda-lime glass was chosen as the main material as its amorphous molecular structure allows it to absorb the ethanol, leaving less vapour for the nose. The molecules in soda-lime glass are in constant movement, meaning it more readily absorbs the ethanol vapour from the liquid. The profile of the glass itself was built around this capability, by creating curvatures that promote a liquid flow that facilitates ethanol absorption.
- Tags
- Cognac, luxury, design, craftsmanship, experience, immersion, glass, product, exclusive, drinking
- Production Technology
- With scent responsible for around 80% of the perception in taste and experience of flavour, the focus when designing the Niall was to remove the ethanol vapour that hinders this same experience. By triggering the nerves in the nose and creating a burning sensation, this vapour detracts from the true flavours and enjoyment of the cognac.
In removing and lessening the effect of the ethanol, the drinker can appreciate the full complexity of flavour and layers of taste generally masked by the vapour. - Design Challenge
- The main challenge when developing The Niall glass was to design a product that can truly assist in removing the ethanol vapour and subsequent burn from the cognac drinking experience. From the initial inhalation of the aroma to the last sip, the flavours must be as intended; richly complex, intriguing, and vibrant. The ultimate goal is for the drinker to detect more of the phenolic compounds and flavours that would otherwise have been hindered by the overpowering ethanol in any other glass.
- Project Duration
- Developed for over 24 months, and tested and prototyped in several iterations to achieve the perfect shaping, design, ergonomics and performance, all the way to performance testing, The Niall glass was a revolutionising exercise over two years that led to a full product development that can fully revolutionise not only the cognac market, but the perception of such spirit to its core, where a finer detail can now be perceived tasting this type of drink.
- Operation Flow
- Once the liquid hits the bottom of the glass in its Vortex Point, a swirl is created, spinning the ethanol down to the base and out to the sides of the glass where the vapour can be absorbed into the walls. As the aroma continues its journey up the glass, the bulb arches in-and-out in a chicane-like curve, slowing the movement of the ethanol. In doing so it allows the glass time to absorb more of the vapour as it makes its way towards the nose, whilst an elevated stem promotes an optimal grip.
- Research
- For such a competitive and complete field such as glassware, an exhaustive and extensive research was crucial not just to understand the market itself, but the science that could improve the performance of the cognac. A combination of scientific studies and design techniques over the ages led to the definition of a product that could clearly dissipate the ethanol effect in the drink, leaving only the phenol compounds, guaiacol and eugenol, and the pure cognac notes to scent and taste.
- Inspiration
- The Niall was conceived to elevate the nosing and tasting experience to the heights demanded by the cognac's complex profiles. Eighteen months of scientific research were poured into the design, resulting in cognac glasses that have revolutionised the experience, by merging science and design into achieving a product that alters the ethanol effects by absorbing it through the glass properties, whilst following a specific shaping and pouring vortex that fully enhances nosing and flavours.
- Image Credits
- The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.
- Patents
- Worldwide patent and design registry attributed to Tiago Russo and Katia Martins for the science and design behind the glass.
Colors of The Niall Cognac Glass
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