Power Snifters

Power SniftersSavvy hosts know how to finish dinner with a flourish. After the café, or with it, they present a sensuous spirit in a round-bowled, footed goblet known, of course, as a snifter. What happens next is best described by an observation from France's high-proof 19th Century diplomat, Talleyrand: "We hold the glass in the hollow of the hand, we warm it up, we shake it in a circular movement so that the liquor exhales its perfume. Then we sniff it, we inhale it, and then, dear sir,...