Blade Runner and the ‘Cibi’ Double Whisky Glass

With the release of Blade Runner 2049, I thought I would take a quick look at the history surrounding the Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass as used by Rick Deckard in the original Blade Runner film released in 1982. I previously mentioned these Blade Runner whisky glasses in my light-hearted article Perfect Pairings, and it achieved a large amount of hits so I thought that I would try and discover more about these ‘Cibi’ glasses.

The Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass

The Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass (Single Glass)

The Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass (Twin Pack)

A Little History: The Cibi Glass Maker and Designer

The Cibi 030101 Double Old Fashioned Glass was first produced by Italian glass makers Arnolfo di Cambio, and was designed by Italian designer Cini Boeri in 1973.

Born in 1924, Cini Boeri is an award-winning industrial designer, architect, and interior designer. She is one of the few female Italian designers to achieve international success in the postwar era. Besides designing the sculptured whisky glass used in Blade Runner, Cini Boeri created has many modern Italian design classics, including furniture, luggage, chandeliers and buildings. In 1979, she won a Compasso D’Oro and in 2008 she also won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. You can find out more about Cini Boeri on her website at www.ciniboeriarchitetti.com (if you speak Italian) or en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cini_Boeri (for the English speaker).

Arnolfo di Cambio was founded in Colle Val d’Elsa, Tuscany, in 1963. The town is famous for crystal working and since its beginnings, the company has grown to become one of the world’s most respected international glass makers. Products by Arnolfo di Cambio have earned a range of prizes and awards, and they are enjoying their rightful place as one of Italy’s leading glass manufacturers. Visit their website at www.arnolfodicambio.com

Blade Runner and The Cibi Glass

Despite having a relatively small budget, every single set and location in Blade Runner is filled with props and art decoration. Director Ridley Scott says “When it comes to science fiction, the devil is in the details”, and this attention to detail included using the Cibi glasses we know and love.

However, the Cibi glass wasn’t just a prop. It was a commercially available, hand-made crystal, mouth-blown old fashioned tumbler that Ridley Scott chose to be used by Deckard in the movie. Arnolfo di Cambio were supplying many props for the movie and Scott chose the square Cibi old fashioned glass specially for its unique design which has proved to be timeless.

Blade Runner is a movie that almost overloads the senses with its amazing scenery, script, and concept. Your eyes are constantly discovering new sights each time you watch it, but one image that stuck with me from the very first viewing was Deckard and the incredibly large and unusually shaped glass that he drank his whisky out of. I don’t know about you, but I have wanted one of those glasses since my eyes first caught site of it!

The Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass Specifications

The price of these magnificent glasses isn’t cheap, but they are very special and brilliant for movie buffs everywhere! A single glass costs around $114, whilst the twin pack is priced at about $170, with prices fluctuating from time-to-time, however these whisky glasses come in a very stylish gift box and they make an excellent gift for a Blade Runner fan.

Below are the must-know technical specifications and other available Cibi products:

You can see even all these and more Blade Runner inspired gift ideas in our Amazon Ideas List here.

What else should I know?

In the original Blade Runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is seen drinking Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whisky out of his Cibi double old-fashion tumbler. Why not get yourself a bottle of this classic whisky costs and relive the film in your own home in the most authentic way as possible!

Below you can see a video of Deckard in his apartment with the famed Cibi whisky glass in hand. As he walks through his apartment there’s fantastic attention to detail, the bottle of black label Johnnie Walker is picked up and you can see many other bottles placed strategically around the room. I’ve also included here the original 1982 Blade Runner movie trailer.

Did you know, in 2017 Johnnie Walker released a strictly limited edition Black Label “The Director’s Cut” Whisky in the very unusual shaped bottle portrayed in Blade Runner? (As in the clip above.) You can find out more details on the Johnnie Walker website.

Unlike the Cibi whisky glass, the unusual shaped Johnnie Walker bottle was not commercially available. Doing a little research online, I discovered that when props were presented to Ridley and his team, they only had 2 glass bottles available. Ridley and others loved the bottle so much that they wanted a few copies made for production so about a dozen vacuum-formed copies were made. Unfortunately they all leaked so the copies were used for set decoration only and simply became static props. (Source)

Blade Runner 2049

At the time of writing, Blade Runner 2049 is on general release in cinemas. It has received some very good reviews and looks set to become a modern classic, but we’re not concerned with that. The question we are asking is, does the Cibi Double Old Fashioned Glass appear in the 2017 movie?

In a photo on the Warner Bros website you can see actors Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling chatting with director Ridley Scott whilst a Cibi Double Old Fashioned glass sits on the counter top in front of them. I suspect that this is a photograph taken on set so our hopes are high that it will make an appearance.

Update: Sources tell me that, yes, the Cibi glass does appear in the movie, and it can be seen in the headquarters of Wallace Corporation, so that’s great news!

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning a little about the Cibi Double Old Fashioned tumbler as much as I’ve enjoyed researching it!