is this a decanter?

[tommy]

i've got this thing from william yeoward (on the left in the below pic). mrs. tommy tells me it's a decanter. i'm not convinced, and i think it's for flowers or something silly. does anyone know for sure? their website doesn't seem to have it, and i'm going out of my mind googling looking for the image.

for comparative purposes, i've also pictured something that i'm reasonably sure *is* a decanter.

any help would be appreciated. this fight is getting out of hand.

[hjshorter]

Looks like a decanter to me. Vases don't usually have a lip like the top of that one does.

[Priscilla]

Is it missing a stopper, this thing on the left? And, does it decant?

[tommy]

Is it missing a stopper, this thing on the left? And, does it decant?

no stopper as far as i know. and it'll decant alright. although i haven't measured its volume. it would appear to be, however, about 750 ml. which i suppose might be more than coincidence.

[Priscilla]

Better measure ... in no way do I mean to be sexist but IN MY EXPERIENCE men are notoriously bad at visual space estimation.

[Coop]

I vote decanter on the left, but the item on the right looks like a vase to me. The thickness of the lip screams flowers, not wine.

[Schneier]

Looks like a dacanter, but for spirits and not wine.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Heck, in a pinch I've used my decanters for flowers and my vases for decanters! If you need to open multiple bottles, don't limit yourself just because you think it is vase.. Then again, if someone gives you awfully nice flowers, they can look really cool in a spiffy decanter!

[JAZ]

I had a wine broker friend take a look at the photo, and he says it's a vase.

[tommy]

I vote decanter on the left, but the item on the right looks like a vase to me. The thickness of the lip screams flowers, not wine.

i think it's technically a carafe.

now i'm really confused.

[tommy]

Heck, in a pinch I've used my decanters for flowers and my vases for decanters! If you need to open multiple bottles, don't limit yourself just because you think it is vase.. Then again, if someone gives you awfully nice flowers, they can look really cool in a spiffy decanter!

that made more sense than anything i've ever heard, probably in my entire life.

thanks everyone. i think i know what to do with it: leave it on the shelf where it's been for the last 3 years while forgetting it's there even when i need something for wine or flowers or water.

[ivan]

Have you tried drinking out of it?

750 ml = no need for refills.

[KatieLoeb]

Tommy:

Looks like it might be missing a stopper and indeed be a spirits decanter. Looks like something that would be on a lovely tray on the sideboard of a mansion's "library" with a little engraved silver sign hanging around its neck that says "Brandy" or "Scotch".

The Yeoward crystal is GORGEOUS. I worked with some wine glasses of his for a photo shoot for Victoria Magazine (side note: the restaurant I managed did a Victorian Dinner party in Honor of Eleanor Roosevelt and got into the mag) and never forgot how pretty they were.

[Carema]

i've got this thing from william yeoward (on the left in the below pic).  mrs. tommy tells me it's a decanter.  i'm not convinced, and i think it's for flowers or something silly.  does anyone know for sure?  their website doesn't seem to have it, and i'm going out of my mind googling looking for the image.

for comparative purposes, i've also pictured something that i'm reasonably sure *is* a decanter.

any help would be appreciated.  this fight is getting out of hand. 

On the left is a baseball bat for the very angry, very wealthy set

[Anna N]

Heck, in a pinch I've used my decanters for flowers and my vases for decanters! If you need to open multiple bottles, don't limit yourself just because you think it is vase.. Then again, if someone gives you awfully nice flowers, they can look really cool in a spiffy decanter!

I am with you! I don't own a wine decanter but looked in my china cabinet and there stood a very simple glass cylinder meant for flowers- does just fine as a decanter! It is now not only dual-purpose but tri-purpose because it works equally well to hold a candle like a hurricane glass - the base filled with seashells, cranberries, or whatever.

[docsconz]

While I'm sure that both could be used as decanters, the only advantage the one on the left has over the original bottle is the ability to get rid of sediment and provide the aeration time while pouring from the bottle into it. It lacks the feature most essential of a decanter and that is providing large surface area for aeration.

[tommy]

While I'm sure that both could be used as decanters, the only advantage the one on the left has over the original bottle is the ability to get rid of sediment and provide the aeration time while pouring from the bottle into it. It lacks the feature most essential of a decanter and that is providing large surface area for aeration.

i agree. it's my opinion that most decanters are useless, save the sentiment issue and the initial sloshing of the wine into the thing.

to quote the great Willie Gluckstern,

"You will need two widemouthed, liter-size, indestructible bistro carafes - not the delicate crystal from your grandmother's china cabinet. A major California wine producer (who sells no wine before is time) markets his modest product in just such a carafe for about $3 or $4. The "wine" may be gently decanted into the sink: it's the glass you want."

Edited December 5, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Big Bunny]

Is it "Cleo":

http://www.thebaytree.com.au/products/glas...cantersetc.html

[tommy]

Is it "Cleo":

http://www.thebaytree.com.au/products/glas...cantersetc.html

i do believe it might be.

[Big Bunny]

I once found a 2 liter Erlenmeyer flask in a second hand shop.

It looks SO COOL holding a magnum of wine.

BB

[dlc]

I once found a 2 liter Erlenmeyer flask in a second hand shop.

It looks SO COOL holding a magnum of wine.

BB

I use both the 1 and 2 liter Erlenmeyer flasks as decanters. They hurt the pocketbook a lot less when you break them and I think they look great on the table as well as having the perfect amount of surface for a bottle or a magnum.

P.S. my wife uses them as vases for long stemmed blooms on occassion.

[Kim WB]

I'm voting VASE.

[jackal10]

I vote carafe, probably for water.

A decanter has a stopper

[guajolote]

if you have a drill bit for glass, and a rubber seal, , and a few miscallaneous pieces of hardware, you could make a nifty bong out of either of them.

[slkinsey]

to quote the great Willie Gluckstern,

"You will need two widemouthed, liter-size, indestructible bistro carafes - not the delicate crystal from your grandmother's china cabinet. A major California wine producer (who sells no wine before is time) markets his modest product in just such a carafe for about $3 or $4. The "wine" may be gently decanted into the sink: it's the glass you want."

Epoxy a Wine Clip around the neck of that baby, and you're good to go!