Huckberry Whiskey Peaks Glasses Review

We purchased the Huckberry Whiskey Peaks Glass so our reviewer could put it to the test in their home bar. Read on for the full review.

The Bottom Line:

Huckberry's Whiskey Peaks glassware is better suited to whiskey-loving adventurers than whiskey connoisseurs.

Buy on Huckberry, Around $50 to $65

Design: Measuring 3 5/8 inches high and 3 inches in diameter with an 11.5-ounce capacity, these glasses are available in a variety of raised topographical options. You can sip your dram while marveling over the peaks of Mt. Everest, the features of Half Dome, or the valleys of the Grand Tetons. The name of your chosen landmark is cleanly etched in all caps at the bottom of the glass in case you forget what exactly you're admiring.

Material: The tumblers are hand-blown from premium lead-free glass, making for a light but sturdy-feeling vessel.

Cleaning: Even though the Whiskey Peaks are made out of glass, which is something you can usually throw into a dishwasher to clean, you should hand wash them instead.

Price: A set of two Whiskey Peaks glasses is $30 while a set of four is $65, both great gift-giving amounts. Seems odd that a pack of four glasses is $5 more than the cost of two. But the four-pack offers varieties, such as the Rockies and the Grand Tetons, that you can't get in sets of two. There's no option to mix and match your own sets, unfortunately. Considering these glasses are unique in style and hand-blown from quality, lead-free glass, the price is at a sweet spot where it's not too high or even too low to gift to your favorite whiskey-drinking outdoorsperson.

Our Review

The way you drink whiskey plays an important part in how you enjoy it. And it's why whiskey connoisseurs tend to be picky about the type of glass they sip from. As with any fine spirit, you want to be able to admire its color in the light, its aromas, and finally its mouthfeel and taste. And the right whiskey glass enables all of this.

I was curious to see if Huckberry's popular Whiskey Peaks glass, which were first created in 2016 to commemorate the National Parks Service centennial, could do more to showcase my favorite pour other than make it look pretty filling up the tiny Grand Canyon. What type of whiskey drinker is it meant for? Can it make a great gift for whiskey lovers?

The Huckberry Whiskey Peaks glass is more than a gimmick. Since the glassware is double-walled in design, these mini mountains appear as if they're floating. Any liquid you pour in then submerges them, slowly revealing their features with every sip. A 2-ounce pour completely floods the Grand Canyon with the liquid's surface hovering about a half inch over its plateau; an ounce pour fills the glass up to the rim of the mini landmark's plateau. Swirl your whiskey and it crashes against the crevices of the crystalline peaks, something you may find yourself repeatedly doing for sheer entertainment. (Pst. You might also be pleased by putting the whiskey in a good decanter to slow down oxidation for longer taste.)

You can't help but stare at the glass, taking in the spectacle of a majestic mountain flooded by whiskey. It's eye-catching and compels you to ruminate over its textured details, which are made all the more attractive awashed in golden liquid.

The tumbler size is the perfect proportion for fitting comfortably in your hand, and even though it's light to hold aloft, it feels like the best high-quality whiskey glassware. However, the double-walled feature may be viewed as a downside to some whiskey drinkers. Not only does it prevent you from warming up the whiskey with your hands to help release its aromas, which some whiskey drinkers prefer, but it makes the glass' lip thick, getting in the way of a tidy sip. Combine that with the tumbler's wider mouth and the liquid is forced to gather at the corners of your mouth, compared to when sipping from, say, a thin-lipped and narrower Glencairn glass. You instinctively want to gulp rather than sip here. To get a better idea of what this looked like, I filled both the Whiskey Peaks glass and Glencairn glass with water and then slowly poured the water out side by side. The stream from the Whiskey Peaks was wider and more difficult to pour slowly and neatly compared to the Glencairn.

When it comes to material, since they are hand-blown, there may be some air bubbles and variations. Huckberry states this disclaimer on their site. My Grand Canyon tumblers each had an air bubble that protruded from the inside of the bottom outer wall, marring the otherwise smooth line of the base.

Under the manufacturer's recommendation, you should hand wash these glasses. Since you'll only be using these to drink whiskey, you don't have to worry about syrup or bits of citrus getting cemented in the mountain's crevices.

The Competition

The only similarities the Huckberry Whiskey Peaks Glass and the 63Above Everest (view at Amazon) share are that they are made from hand-blown lead-free glass and showcase a famous mountain. But while Whiskey Peaks offers a variety of mountain ranges, for 63Above there's only Mt. Everest. And 63Above's impression of Everest doesn't feature the cragginess of the Whiskey Peaks' depiction but instead is smoothed over.

The 63Above Everest set of two is more expensive in that it's priced at $50 to $60 on Amazon. Its capacity is also a bit smaller at 10 ounces versus the Huckberry's 11.5 ounces. The 63Above Everest Glass also is not double-walled so it has a thinner rim and the whiskey is susceptible to the heat from your hands, which might be just fine depending on your preference.

The Final Verdict

If you're the type of whiskey drinker who enjoys sitting around a campfire pondering life's great adventures, this Huckberry Whiskey Peaks Glass (view at Huckberry) is the vessel for you. You are more inclined to enjoy the moment, toast with friends and go through several drams than focus on what's actually going on inside that glass, other than that the whiskey looks cool washing over the glass mountains, that is. However, if you prefer to nose your whiskey, swirl it cleanly and reflect on the notes of each sip, you're better off getting Glencairn glasses.

Why Trust Liquor.com?

We purchased these glasses for our tester, Caroline Pardilla, to try out for a month and review. Caroline is a writer specializing in cocktails and bars. She is based in Los Angeles and has contributed to Liquor.com since 2016. She has nearly two decades of experience as a writer and editor for publications including BBC Travel, Eater, LAist, LA Weekly and Los Angeles magazine.