Snifters

[flyinglentris]

I had recently been exploring brandies, cognacs and almagnacs. And I recalled a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" movie where the characters portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Wendell Corey are chatting up their views on what they think is a murder that occurred in an apartment visible across the courtyard from Jimmy's. All three are holding a glass of brandy and oddly, are slowly rolling the glass around causing the brandy to lap at the sides of the glass. Never do any of them actually drink from the glass, but the reason for swirling the brandy intrigued me.

View media item 9630
So, I did some digging. And what I found, was the snifter and what it implied. A snifter is a small glass, wide at the base and narrow at the top, defined to allow the aromas of the brandy or any brown liquor such as whiskey or bourbon to be evaporated into the air within the glass, captured by the narrower top. It certainly suggests that people, at least in the time of the movie, enjoyed both the taste and the fragrance of the spirits in the snifter, appropriately named.

Does anybody still use snifters today?

 

[TastyReuben]

Yes, we certainly do:

They're also excellent vessels for high-alcohol beers, like barleywines and wee heavies.

 

[flyinglentris]

Yes, we certainly do:

View attachment 76766

They're also excellent vessels for high-alcohol beers, like barleywines and wee heavies.

Do you swirl them? Do you sniff? How long do you swirl, if you do?

 

[TastyReuben]

Do you swirl them? Do you sniff? How long do you swirl, if you do?

Yes, I swirl them (and a lot of alcoholic drinks in general) to release the aromas, and when I have a sip (again, regardless of the alcohol in question, except maybe hot drinks), I'll inhale right when the liquid hits my palate and it really amplifies the taste. As they say, you taste with your nose as much as you do your mouth (and probably more so).

I just give them a quick two or three times around the glass before I have a sip.

 

[garlichead]

I had recently been exploring brandies, cognacs and almagnacs. And I recalled a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" movie where the characters portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Wendell Corey are chatting up their views on what they think is a murder that occurred in an apartment visible across the courtyard from Jimmy's. All three are holding a glass of brandy and oddly, are slowly rolling the glass around causing the brandy to lap at the sides of the glass. Never do any of them actually drink from the glass, but the reason for swirling the brandy intrigued me.

View media item 9630
So, I did some digging. And what I found, was the snifter and what it implied. A snifter is a small glass, wide at the base and narrow at the top, defined to allow the aromas of the brandy or any brown liquor such as whiskey or bourbon to be evaporated into the air within the glass, captured by the narrower top. It certainly suggests that people, at least in the time of the movie, enjoyed both the taste and the fragrance of the spirits in the snifter, appropriately named.

Does anybody still use snifters today?

Were you not aware of this practice?

Always. It's natural to want to smell. The snifter is to funnel the aroma better. The actual taste of the liquid isn't influenced by a particular glass per se, but as they say the journey is as important as the destination. I find temp to be an important factor as well. It's just a nice tradition that personally I enjoy but I've also had brandy in shot glasses and wine in tumblers. Cheers!

 

[flyinglentris]

Were you not aware of this practice?

Always. It's natural to want to smell. The snifter is to funnel the aroma better. The actual taste of the liquid isn't influenced by a particular glass per se, but as they say the journey is as important as the destination. I find temp to be an important factor as well. It's just a nice tradition that personally I enjoy but I've also had brandy in shot glasses and wine in tumblers. Cheers!

Nope. I was not aware.

 

[rascal]

I had recently been exploring brandies, cognacs and almagnacs. And I recalled a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" movie where the characters portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Wendell Corey are chatting up their views on what they think is a murder that occurred in an apartment visible across the courtyard from Jimmy's. All three are holding a glass of brandy and oddly, are slowly rolling the glass around causing the brandy to lap at the sides of the glass. Never do any of them actually drink from the glass, but the reason for swirling the brandy intrigued me.

View media item 9630
So, I did some digging. And what I found, was the snifter and what it implied. A snifter is a small glass, wide at the base and narrow at the top, defined to allow the aromas of the brandy or any brown liquor such as whiskey or bourbon to be evaporated into the air within the glass, captured by the narrower top. It certainly suggests that people, at least in the time of the movie, enjoyed both the taste and the fragrance of the spirits in the snifter, appropriately named.

Does anybody still use snifters today?

We had snifters as kids, lollies.

Russ

 

[karadekoolaid]

I think we´ve got a couple of really old brandy snifters at home.However, I very, very rarely drink cognac or brandy; single malt is my chosen tipple. However, I do remember a Master Class from the LA Ambassador for Johnnie Walker, and one thing he told us all to do was to cover the top of the glass, swill the whisky around a bit and then smell. As you so rightly point out, it enables you to identify the aromas which, eventually, you will drink.
With Scotch, it might be smoke, leather, wood, caramel, etc.
With fine wines (and it´s common to see sommeliers swill the wine around the glass before sniffing) it´s fruit, blackberries, cherries, spices.

 

[flyinglentris]

Hmmm. Not that I plan to increase drinking liquors, but I decided to purchase some snifters and similar design shot glasses. I just gotta test this snifter thing out. For a single guy, the ones I wanted come in packs of 6 and that means I'm free to break one or two (by accident of course). The packs of 6 make the price per glass less and they are expensive as they are special blown glass creations, some cut glass.

 

[karadekoolaid]

I like to drink Cognac and Whisky from crystal glasses, so you can find some good stuff on E-bay

 

[flyinglentris]

I like to drink Cognac and Whisky from crystal glasses, so you can find some good stuff on E-bay

I already ordered them from Walmart.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

My experience is more with rum, but I dabble in the occasional tipple of whiskey. My 2 cents follow.

To me, swirling the spirit accomplishes two things:

1. Aerating the spirit. Like letting a red wine "breathe" before serving, the exposure to air starts the release of the esters from the spirit, especially if the bottle is new. These esters can be sharp on the nose, but once they dissipate a bit you can enjoy the nuances of the spirit.
2. Allow you to judge the visual characteristics of the spirit; including the viscosity (ie the legs) of the liquid as it settles down the sides of the glass and the amber color (darker sometimes indicating a longer aging process).

I use Glencairn glasses more often than Snifters for this purpose. I'm a fan of spirits but rarely do I sip more than an ounce or two neat, so the smaller Glencairn works for me. Both have a shape that is bulbous at the base and narrows at the rim to direct the scent of the liquid to your nose.

 

[Morning Glory]

My experience is more with rum, but I dabble in the occasional tipple of whiskey. My 2 cents follow.

To me, swirling the spirit accomplishes two things:

1. Aerating the spirit. Like letting a red wine "breathe" before serving, the exposure to air starts the release of the esters from the spirit, especially if the bottle is new. These esters can be sharp on the nose, but once they dissipate a bit you can enjoy the nuances of the spirit.
2. Allow you to judge the visual characteristics of the spirit; including the viscosity (ie the legs) of the liquid as it settles down the sides of the glass and the amber color (darker sometimes indicating a longer aging process).

I use Glencairn glasses more often than Snifters for this purpose. I'm a fan of spirits but rarely do I sip more than an ounce or two neat, so the smaller Glencairn works for me. Both have a shape that is bulbous at the base and narrows at the rim to direct the scent of the liquid to your nose.

You talk like a pro!

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

You talk like a pro!

lol thanks, but I'm just a high-functioning alcoholic!

 

[flyinglentris]

I just received my set of 6 snifters, set of 6 shot glasses and 6 skewers that came packaged with the shot glasses. Why the skewers with shot glasses? I haven't a clue.

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