When glasses dance. Meet the legendary Giant Snifters Club

There is a feeling of suspense in the room. Robert Redford, a great actor who won a number of prestigious film awards, is standing next to a table, trying to swirl one of the unusually large Moser glasses. Inside, he needs to pour an aperitif typical for the Karlovy Vary region – Becherovka. If at least a few drops make it into the goblet, he will enter the famous Giant Snifters Club. Those who are present witness this ritual, an entrance procedure that must be passed by all those interested in a lifelong membership in the unique Moser community, the history of which dates back to the 1950s.

“The elongated glasses need to be held just under the bowl, then they can rotate beautifully. As for the thick ones, grab their bowl, tilt them a little and they will slowly start to dance,” advises Moser’s exclusive customer manager Jitka Čabradová, who is herself a member of the club. The entry ritual take place mainly in Karlovy Vary, on the premises of the Moser glassworks, which are equipped with furniture designed by the prominent architect Rudolf Wels. There is also a large round table with a black opaxit plate, on which the glasses are traditionally swirled. Robert Redford succeeds, and so the club gains a new member.

Louis and Lucille Armstrong with Giant Snifters in Prague, 1965 (Moser archive)

Other members of the club include an actress Sophia Loren, a trumpet player Louis Armstrong, a tenor Peter Dvorský, a singer Gabriela Beňačková and the King of Spain Juan Carlos I. After the Velvet Revolution, the club was joined by socially active personalities, including Madeleine Albright and Václav Havel.

International pride

František Chocholatý, an artist and the head of the Moser store in Prague’s Na Příkopě Street, came up with the idea of creating the giant glasses in the middle of the previous century. He himself designed and illustrated the new collection of special goblets. Its set, called the Physiognomic Bar, consists of six giant glasses, each representing a specific type of a person. Any person who wants to join the club must initially choose the type of glass that best reflects their personality.

František Chocholatý, founder of the Giant Snifters Club, approx. 1960 (Moser archive)

The tallest of the glasses is called the Slender Lady (Štíhlá dáma) and it is complemented by the Long Lord (Dlouhý pán). The second pair consists of the Moon Face (Měsíční tvář) or the Optimist (Optimista), and the Long Face (Dlouhá tvář) alias the Pessimist (Pesimista). The names Little Fat Man (Tlouštík) and Fat Berta (Tlustá Berta) were used for the shortest pair of round glasses. “In 1958, the giant glasses were exhibited in Brussels at the EXPO international exhibition, where they won the prestigious Grand Prix. The same year, František Chocholatý first came up with the idea of founding the club,” says Jitka Čabradová.

After the performance at the EXPO 58 exhibition, where the artist René Roubíček also gained his fame, the giant glasses became a hit with of an international dimension. The club was officially founded in 1960 and among its first members it counted, for example, the Ethiopian emperor or the Turkish president. “František Chocholatý was a very sociable man who tried to connect people. Czech glass was one of the things our country was always proud of, which he made use of when visiting foreign partners such as the honorary consul of Guatemala,” states Čabradová.

The Giant Snifters Club has never been involved in any political events, so in the difficult communist stage of Czechoslovak history, it offered a certain relief from being bound by the regime. “Moser already had a great reputation at the time, and it was presented to foreign visitors. This is one of the reasons why important personalities visited the Prague store and the Karlovy Vary glassworks,” explains Jitka Čabradová, recalling that Moser was nicknamed the Glass of Kings.

Get to know the giant glasses from the Physiognomic Bar set

From the left: Long Lord, Slender Lady, Little Fat Man, Long Face, Fat Berta, Moon Face 

The club still exists today, although the rituals take place only rarely. The club gets new members, for example, during the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, for which Moser produces the main prizes, the well-known crystal globes. During the festival, many acting stars from around the world have visited the glass factory – and many of them also swirled the giant glasses and became a part of the club. Including Robert Redford. “In the modern history of the festival, we also welcomed Whoopi Goldberg to the club,” recalls Jitka Čabradová, who herself spins the giant glasses during the ritual.

Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida and the director of the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, A. M. Brousil, toast with Giant Snifters, which were brought to the XIV. year of the Cannes Film Festival in 1961 by František Chocholatý. (Glasrevue, 21, 1966, p. 112)

Lifetime heritable membership 

Membership in the Giant Snifters Club is irrevocable and has its rules. Above all, however, it is a symbolic and entertaining event. “Not only do you gain membership for life, but it is also hereditary. That is why we believe that we are probably the largest club in the world,” notes Jitka Čabradová, adding that the members do not pay any membership fees and the club does not require any strict identification.

Members only have one duty – any glass that has a stem must be held by the very bottom of the stem, never by the bowl. It is a hallmark of members around the world, so it can also serve as a conversation starter. “When you see a person holding a glass this way, try to approach them and ask about their membership in the Moser’s Giant Snifters Club. Even if they are not a member, this can get a conversation going,” concludes Jitka Čabradová.

The three sizes of the giant glasses

Today, you can find the Physiognomic bar set, also known as the giant glasses, in three sizes. In addition to the basic edition, which has gained an international reputation, standard drinking glasses are also available. Unusual miniatures of giant goblets have also become popular souvenirs. All of them are based on the original vision of František Chocholatý, who designed the Physiognomic Bar in the late 1950s and founded the Giant Snifters Club around it. The club also excels in its size. Since the membership is lifelong and hereditary, its members include royal and acting families from all over the world.

Certificate of the member of the Giant Snifters Club