Being the discerning drinkers that we all are, we know that simply drinking something is no way to enjoy it. Whether it’s beer, cocktails, wine, or liquor, everything has its own glass, and the glass has a perceived effect on the way things taste, smell, and ultimately how much we’re able to enjoy something. Drinking whiskey in a regular rocks glass? The aroma is getting away, you fool! Get that in a Glencairn glass. Enjoying (and I use that word loosely) an IPA in a pint glass, or anything that’s not a special IPA glass? Why, you might as well be drinking Bud Light, simpleton!

And now, thanks to the folks at Angry Orchard, the cider world has been shaken to its very core. The Johnny Appleseed-like visionaries there have used sensory experts, cider experts, and tasting panels to pour through 50-plus designs to make a cider-specific glass that is sweeter than any Honeycrisp or Pink Lady. The Orchard Glass has a bulbous middle with a lip atop it to enhance aromas and allow a cider’s wine- and beer-like traits to both shine through.

Does the glass actually enhance the flavor of cider the way, say, Boston Beer Co’s Boston Lager glass enhances its Boston Lager, or the way Schneider & Sohn’s glass enhances their Aventinus? Time will tell. While cider is gaining quite a bit of momentum in the American market, specialized glassware at bars will probably be few and far between. So, unless you have the glass yourself (or one of the aforementioned), it’ll probably be a while before you can step up your cider game. But don’t shake the tree just yet – the glass is available on the Angry Orchard website in two-pack form for $14.95.

Top photo via Flickr user Didriks; Angry Orchard glass photo via Angry Orchard