Why Do People Develop a Favorite (Whiskey) Glass? | Oak & Ember

How Design, Psychology and Biochemistry create our Personal Favorites

Founder's Journal

The idea that most people develop a favorite whiskey glass is part of Oak & Ember’s origin story. In this article, I use design and behavioral psychology to explain how these personal favorites are born and how you can use it to pick the right gift for yourself or a loved-one.

Key Takeaways

• For whiskey glasses, the Gestalt Principles, weight and tactile comfort influence how we perceive craftsmanship and value.
• The personal rituals that soothe us trigger dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, reinforcing enjoyment.
• Over time, the Mere-Exposure Effect turns frequently used objects into personal favorites.

When these elements align, whiskey glasses quietly enhance our experiences without demanding continuous attention.

Quality over Quantity
Being in your 30s can be liberating. Many of the insecurities of your twenties fade, while responsibilities grow. That shift, to me, came with a new appreciation for quality over quantity – choosing products that really suit me and my preferences and have a longer life expectancy.

How Becoming a Homebody Made Me A Whiskey Enthusiast
Another 30s change for me is that I’ve become a ‘homebody’: someone who likes to spend time at home. To me, there’s no environment better suited to deal with daily stresses and responsibilities than home. It’s the number one place where I feel I can let go, relax, and be myself. 

Interestingly, this changed my interior design taste as well. I used to be very minimalistic about my furniture of choice, but nowadays I prefer a comfortable, warm and cozy interior. Suddenly, the Bordeaux-colored candles and Tyrian purple cushions that came along with my girlfriend moving in, aren’t dealbreakers anymore. Which brings me to the topic of whiskey glasses.

Whiskey Novice, Product Design Connoisseur
I'ts been about two years since I began appreciating whiskey. Even though I'm beyond the stage where a sip from the strong, amber-colored liqour feels like a righteous slap in the face, I'm a novice when it comes to flavor recognition and knowledge about distillation processes. If right now I would try a whiskey that I haven't tasted before, I might still startle like a myotonic goat, but I always genuinely relish the aftertaste. It’s been about two years since I began appreciating whiskey.

What I lack in flavor and distillation knowledge, I make up for with understanding how products are designed and presented, and how they can often enhance even our most mundane experiences. It’s this crossroads of psychology and product design that truly intrigues me. 

People and Their Favorites
Often late in the evening, after work and when all other household chores are done, I can truly look forward to leaning back in my favorite spot on the couch, a crystal whiskey glass in my right hand and sipping away on a small amount of Balvenie, or my latest addition: Jameson’s Distillery Edition (a remembrance token of my last Dublin visit). It’s this combination of ritual, quality products and presentation that – for me – really makes a difference in enjoyment and experience.

But what causes this enhancing effect? We can use psychology and biochemistry to explain why the right product can legitimately reinforce moments of indulgence.

How we Identify Quality Design
Humans are naturally programmed to store information in their brains as efficiently as possible. To achieve this with design, designers often rely on the Gestalt Principles — 12 psychological rules explaining how humans recognize patterns and visual harmony. Interestingly, designs or appearances around these principles are often what many would describe as ‘beautiful’. 

Emergence
The first rule is that we recognize an object’s overall structure first, before being able to distinguish individual, smaller parts. If done right, this means that a whiskey glass can have many different design elements, without appearing over-decorated.

An example would be Cumbria Crystal’s Double Old Fashioned Whiskey Tumbler: 

This elegant glass is styled in a classic composition, consisting of many intricate design elements and patterns, yet organized in such a way that we still immediately recognize overall structure first. The overall design features several horizontally layered rings, but then, the longer you look, the more of its many delicate features will start to emerge. 

The Law of Pragnanz
Through the Henry glass, made by our new American partner – Glassblower Ben – the twelfth rule can be explained. This rule is defined as our brain’s way of trying to visually simplify complex features, by automatically filling gaps and turning them into familiar shapes.

With this artisan-made whiskey glass, it is difficult to visually distinguish the various shapes in the glass’ walls. Even upon looking closer, it is still challenging to make out what you are looking at. However, our brain is hardwired to make sense of the design, regardless of its intricacies. In fact, it is the complexity that allows us to immediately spot craftsmanship: even without understanding glassmaking, one can tell that this is no ordinary glass – precisely because of its enigmatic features.

Symmetry
The Symmetry rule dictates that people simply prefer two sides of a shape looking similar. The Gold Cube Glass, by Nate Cotterman, is an example of a whiskey tumbler that beautifully captures the symmetry rule. This patented glass features a gold leaf ice cube fused to the bottom of the glass. The symmetry rule can be found in its positioning: the glass ice cube is fused to the center of the glass’ bottom, making sure the space around it is evenly divided. The glass’ wall design is modest, fully drawing the attention to the symmetrically placed glass ice cube, as if you’re admiring a piece of art on a pedestal:

 
The Role of Material in Value Judgment
Obviously, this glass shows a prominent gold leaf feature and there’s lots to write about how material shapes our visual and tactile judgement of craftsmanship and quality versus cheap, mass-produced glasses. While on the subject, if elegant golden features speak to you, you should also check out this Japanese Crystal Whiskey Glass.

One of these material factors is the sensory attribute. Weight is a significant factor in people’s judgment of a product’s monetary value and quality. This Weighted Base Whiskey Glass is designed specifically around this principle. 

The Role of Psychological and Biochemical Processes
Our last stop, to understand how design and having personal favorites are tied together, is to see what happens in our bodies during rituals of gifting and enjoyment.

Authentic Pride
In behavioral psychology, two forms of pride are identified: Hubristic pride and Authentic pride. Hubristic pride is externally oriented and describes a feeling of superiority over others. Authentic pride is related to internal factors and personally earned accomplishment.

It is this Authentic pride that Oak & Ember taps into, because upon reaching our goals – for example achieving business targets – we habitually reward ourselves, or the people around us, with gifts or moments of enjoyment. 

Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin
Receiving a gift causes the release of dopamine: the brain’s reward hormone. When it is a gift given by a loved-one, this also adds the oxytocin hormone: the ‘love’ chemical. It is released during acts of care and love – whether it is giving or receiving – and stimulates attachment.

Serotonin is another important hormone, which is naturally released when we are experiencing moments that calm our nerves and stabilize our mood. Think about spending time on your favorite hobby or what I described earlier: sitting down in your preferred spot and sipping from a nice, smooth whiskey from your favorite whiskey glass. 

How Considerate Gifts Become Personal Favorites
We’ve now reached the point where the magic happens. Thus far, we’ve discussed several scientifically proven factors that shape our perception of receiving and drinking from luxury whiskey glasses:

• How we visually process product design and recognize ‘beauty’.
• Weight for judging craftsmanship and monetary value. 
• The importance of Authentic Pride: earned accomplishment.
• Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin hormones making us want more.

There’s one psychological effect that we haven’t discussed yet, that trumps all others when it comes to slowly transforming everyday objects into favorites. It is called the ‘Mere-Exposure Effect’: it essentially means the longer you possess and use an object, the more you start to appreciate it.

Now, consider this sequence that stacks all aforementioned factors together:

1. You receive a package, wrapped in aesthetically pleasing and soft-touch black wrapping paper, finished with a distinct bronze wax seal.
2. You can tell that you’re holding something valuable. Dopamine releases.
3. The design of the whiskey glasses and their weight signal quality and craftsmanship.
4. Authentic Pride kicks in, together with even more dopamine: your achievements have earned you this rewarding moment.
5. When given by someone else, oxytocin is released and you feel genuine gratitude. Bonding just happened.
6. A week later, you grab one of the glasses and remember the unboxing moment. The Authentic Pride principle may even make you think back on the achievement that earned you this gift – subconsciously linking the glass to the achievement. You relax, take a sip and serotonin, oxytocin and dopamine are released.
7. Since this ritual in the making made you feel good, another week later, you repeat the process.
8. The Mere-Exposure effect gradually starts to take over. As you repeatedly grab the same glass for the same ritual, the glass’ favorability rises and you increasingly connect this specific glass to this ritual.
9. Each time you engage in this ritual, hormones release and you feel good: a reason to keep repeating the ritual. And there it is: a favorite is born.

That something as humdrum as kitchen glassware can trigger so many psychological and biochemical responses, fascinates me. Even writing this article triggered stimuli that now make me want to grab my own Henry glass, pour myself some whiskey and celebrate this moment of having finished this article. 

I can already hear my decanter shouting my name, so I’ll finish this blog rewarding myself with some serotonin and dopamine – from my favorite whiskey glass.

Cheers,

Johan