Spanish decanter, or "perone"

[Jaufry]

hi everyone, I have a bit of a strange search going on, and I'm hoping someone here might be able to help.
a few years ago I spent some time in Spain, and was introduced to a certain type of decanter, or jug, called a "perone", or maybe it was a "berone", I don't remember exactly. anyway, I'm trying desperatly to find one of these as a Christmas present for a friend, and can't even find the slightest reference to one in the Internet. it's unique in that at meals, no one uses a glass for their wine, instead, they take this "perone" and pours wine directly from it into their mouth, stopping the flow of wine with a neat little flick of the wrist. does anyone here know where I might be able to find one of these, short of going back to Spain?
thanks in advance,
-Jaufry

[tomstevenson]

Hi Jaufry

The word you are trying to remember is porron. A porron is a glass drinking vessel that used to be commonly used in Spain, to share wine round a circle of drinkers, without the necessity of anyone having to touch the vessel (and pass on nasty germs etc). How? It's basically globe-shaped (shapes do vary), with quite a tall opening at the top to pour in the bottle (or whatever amount) of wine, and a spout ending in a very small hole at one side. (Imagine a glass teapot without a handle.) You grasp the porron, and up-end it with the nozzle pointing towards your mouth.

Frequently, people start with it very close to their mouths (but not touching), and then take it further away as they drink, lengthening the stream of wine cascading in.

It's an entertaining (and often messy) way of getting drunk with friends. And (theoretically) hygienic.

If you search the Internet for porron, you might be able to find one.

Good luck!

Tom

[mrdutton]

There is another version of the same that is made from the stomach of a pig or a sheep.

Fill it with wine and then squeeze the sides to have the stream come out of the end fitted with a small nozzle. Start close to the mouth and then expand the distance.

The competition was to see who could drink the most, with the nozzle the furthest from the mouth without spilling any wine.

Seems silly to me to make a similar device from glass - easy to break that. At least the skin bag does not break if one were to drop it.