<P> Throughout the history of wine, decanters have played a significant role in the serving of wine . The vessels would be filled with wine from amphoras and brought to the table where they could be more easily handled by a single servant . The Ancient Romans pioneered the use of glass as a material . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, glass production became scarce causing the majority of decanters to be made of bronze, silver, gold, or earthenware . The Venetians reintroduced glass decanters during the Renaissance period and pioneered the style of a long slender neck that opens to a wide body, increasing the exposed surface area of the wine, allowing it to react with air . In the 1730s, British glass makers introduced the stopper to limit exposure to air . Since then, there has been little change to the basic design of the decanter . </P> <P> Although conceived for wine, other alcoholic beverages, such as cognac or single malt Scotch whisky, are often stored and served in stoppered decanters . Certain cognacs and malt whiskies are sold in decanters such as the 50 - year - old single malt Dalmore or the Bowmore Distillery 22 Year Old . </P> <P> Liquid from another vessel is poured into the decanter in order to separate a small volume of liquid, containing the sediment, from a larger volume of "clear" liquid, which is free of such . In the process, the sediment is left in the original vessel, and the clear liquid is transferred to the decanter . This is analogous to racking, but performed just before serving . </P> <P> Decanters have been used for serving wines that are laden with sediments in the original bottle . These sediments could be the result of a very old wine or one that was not filtered or clarified during the winemaking process . In most modern winemaking, the need to decant for this purpose has been significantly reduced, because many wines no longer produce a significant amount of sediment as they age . </P>

What is the purpose of a whisky decanter