A Brief
History
Cobhthaigh Celtique and
The Glencairn Glass
Hello,
Marty and Dave of Cobhthaigh Celtique here:
We
have received so much positive press and feedback about the Glencairn
Glass.
Thank
you Kevin at The Scotch Blog for letting us reach more
whisky enthusiasts by posting the article about U.S. availability at our website
on February 6, 2008. Thanks to
everyone who have thus far responded to this notification by purchasing glasses,
and those with positive and uplifting comments about how much more you are
enjoying whisky now, and how much a good glass makes a difference in the
experience. Many have written to
say they were buying them for a friend, husband, or to share with a group who
get together to enjoy whisky and were glad to find something affordable,
functional, and classy at the same time. We have had a tremendous positive
response from others trying to find these specific glasses, or just a perfect
glass, or even a decent glass – realizing that the POM juice/tea glass that they
were currently using was not it, at least not for whisky drinking. Please see the “Customer Comments”
section for remarks from all the happy, whisky glass-enjoying recipients. We know that you or your recipient are
going to achieve a higher level of enjoyment of your whisky(ey) by using these fantastic
glasses.
We
had wanted to find a U.S. source for these, ever since we were first introduced
to them in Jim McEwan’s Master Class at Bruichladdich
during the Feis Ile in 2003. After seeing the price for one or two glasses on
any available websites, or at the few retail outlets we could find them at, we
decided to contact The Glencairn Glass Company ourselves and offer these glasses
to the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Since
we import these from Scotland, we have to pay import duty and pretty hefty
shipping costs, not to mention the dollar to pound exchange deficit, and yet we
still offer them at one of the most reasonable prices on any website or retail
store out there, including those in the U.K. Please, see the price comparisons
on our website which we attempt to keep up to date with adjustments in the
exchange rate, changes to pricing and sales that the few others offering these
glasses occasionally make.
A
bit about shipping costs for those with questions about that. We made the decision to ship using
FedEx, based on several factors:
·
We
are able to get glasses shipped the next day, with the exception of glasses
ordered after about 5:00 on Friday, go out on Monday. Delivery has been averaging 2-5 days to
most of the U.S.
·
Shipping
cost usually is pretty comparable to USPS and better than UPS in our
experience. The cost to ship a
package in the U.S. from our home in Colorado has been around $7.50 to over
$12.00, depending on number or glasses, distance and how rural the location of
delivery is. We also incur
residential fees for all non-commercial deliveries, and rural fees if we ship to
a place that FedEx thinks is rural (out of their normal truck delivery routes),
and for the ever popular fuel surcharge fee.
·
Despite
the durability of these glasses, they are still made of glass and are
fragile. We spend a bit extra time
and money to wrap each glass in good bubble wrap and pack the glasses surrounded
with bubble or peanuts. Using
FedEx allows us to insure them at no additional cost. With that said,
we have had extremely low incidences of breakage. Another supplier simply
states in their shipping information that “Breakage
is not insurable”.
·
For
us, the convenience of being able to drop the shipments off on our way to work
or while out doing errands at one of the 3 convenient FedEx locations close to
home and en route to our work places, and avoiding our very annoying and time
wasting lines at our particular Post Office, far outweighs the few cents we
might save.
·
For
the recipient the convenience of FedEx policy to drop shipments without
requiring
the
recipient be available for signature or standing in a line at the post office to
pick up the package prevents this annoyance and delay in getting your glasses,
which we know you want to get in use ASAP!