snifter

A snifter is most often a short-stemmed glass with a wide bowl and a narrower top, usually used for brandy or cognac. Its shape helps hold in the smell of the drink, so people can enjoy the aroma while they sip. In everyday use, the word can also mean a small drink of liquor, as in "a snifter of brandy." Less commonly, it can mean a person who sniffs something, and in older slang it could refer to someone who inhales drugs through the nose.

The word "snifter" is most commonly used for a drinking glass made for aromatic spirits such as brandy and cognac. It usually has a short stem, a large round bowl, and a narrower rim. That shape lets the drinker swirl the liquor and catch more of its smell before taking a sip. If you picture someone in an old movie holding a rounded glass of brandy near a fireplace, that is the classic image of a snifter.

The word can also refer to the drink itself. If someone asks for "a snifter of brandy," they usually mean a small serving rather than the glass alone. This use is less exact, but it appears often enough in casual speech and writing to be part of the word's normal range of meaning.

There are also less common senses tied to the idea of sniffing. A snifter can mean a person who sniffs, and older slang used it for someone who inhales drugs through the nose. That slang sense is dated and may sound offensive now. In modern use, the glass is by far the meaning people are most likely to intend, with the "small drink" sense coming next.