With all of the glassware out there on the market today, it is easy to get confused as to what you should use for any given beverage.Even more confusing can be the decision of what to add to your collection.
We’re going to try to clear up some of this confusion by telling you about one of our own personal favorites. Short Stemmed Glasses. A snifter or what some refer to as a ‘balloon’ is a type of short-stemmed glass designed to capture and enhance the aroma of a beverage. With so many new and exciting flavors and aromas just waiting for you to experience, this is definitely a good thing!
The bowl of the glass has a wide bottom that narrows towards the lip. This design traps the aroma in the glass and evaporates the brandy (or drink) – thus contributing to the aroma.
Using your Short Stemmed Glass
The short stemmed glass is held between the middle and ring finger. The heat from your hands touching the glass enhances the scent of the brandy or cognac and releases the full aroma.
To achieve this effect the bowl of the glass must not exceed 1/3 of its total volume capability. This is one of those rare cases where less is more.
Now you may be asking just how much a snifter will cost you. The average price range seems to be in the $15 - $25 range.
Popular Drinks
While you will often here short stemmed glasses referred to as ‘brandy snifters,’ there is quite a wide range of drinks that work well with this type of glass. A few notable selections include:
- Amaretto Alexander
- Blueberry Tea
- Purple Haze
It’s common to see brandy or cognac swirled around in a snifter. The bowl perfectly captures the true aroma generated by the liqueur, thus enhancing the experience.
Other drinks that work well include
- Back draft
- Bailey-Bu
- Banana Foster
- Beautiful
- Black Forest Cake
- Black Maria
- Blueberry Tea
- Bone Crusher
- Dirty Monkey
- Flaming Moz
- Fluorescent Dream
- French Connection #2
- Full Moon #2
- Greenbrier Creek
- Irish Cream Special
- Jack the Ripper
- Kahlua and Iced Cream
- Kahlua Cognac
- Low Latitude Lust
- Mom's Apple Pie
- Nitrous Oxide
- Port and Brandy
- Sailor Mercury
- Sol Y Sombra
- White Dove
Wow! Look at all those drinks! This list is only the beginning. We recommend printing out this article and trying each of the drinks on the list. You never know just when you will run into your new favorite. A short stemmed glass such as the snifter will help you to unlock the full potential of each of these fine drinks.
