Product news: French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has created a glass with a stem that holds exactly one measure of alcohol for liqueur brand Ricard.
Lehanneur designed the glassware primarily for bars and restaurants to enable the precise amount of Ricard's anise-flavoured spirits to be poured.
The flared stem prevents ice cubes from distorting the measurement and forming crystals that detract from the taste while permanently sitting in the liqueur.
A carafe for mixers has a similar spout to the glass stem and a larger base with the same conical shape.
Mathieu Lehanneur has completed a few projects recently, such as the interior of a cafe in Paris that serves food in edible packaging and a chandelier that looks like illuminated lengths of rope.
One of our most popular stories ever features a range of glasses each designed with one of the seven deadly sins in mind.
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Photos are by Véronique Huyghe.
More information from the designer follows:
Mathieu Lehanneur designs the new Ricard carafe and glass
Ricard entrusted Mathieu Lehanneur with the role of redesigning its carafe and glass set to equip bars, restaurants and clubs. The tasting ritual, a real institution, has been perfected by a complete revision of the codes and features by the French designer. The stem of the glass contains the correct measure of Ricard, an end therefore to incorrect measures. Then, the flared shape of the stem does not allow ice cubes from entering, a small detail that prevents direct contact between the ice and the Ricard and therefore the formation of solidified anise essential oil flakes, that spoil the taste buds of purists!
A design feature that satisfies lovers and also guides enthusiasts who have the tendency to put the ice-cubes in the glass first of all, making a precise measure impossible. “With the Ricard teams we looked at reintroducing the preparation ritual to the very core of the tasting. I wanted to use the alchemy of the perfect measure but make it intuitive, obvious. The glass is primarily responsible for all that. As a result, whatever the order between ice-cubes and Ricard, you can be sure of having the right balance.
A new set that perfectly illustrates the modernist axiom “form follows function” with an innovative design, generous as well as fresh and functional. A big challenge to put into practice for this subject that Mathieu Lehanneur accepts with his usual talent for surprises and surpassing constraints in terms of style.