AROUND HOME : Grappa

IN THE DAYS when the ladies retired after dinner, the gentlemen generally stayed behind for cigars and brandy. That, however, was a very long time ago. Things have changed.

These days, ladies and gentlemen tend to end their meals as they started them--in the same room. Hardly anybody smokes cigars anymore. Even brandy has become passe. The snifters are still sitting on the table, but what is in them is clearly a different drink.

The chic way to end a modern meal is not with an amber liquor but with an equally potent clear one. Grappa is growing in popularity; eaux de vies are easing onto the table.

Eaux de vies, when they’re good, are heady stuff, fruits distilled into nothing more than perfume and potency; a single whiff can make you drunk. It is as if your favorite fruits had suddenly donned negligees and decided to seduce you. The best of them are irresistible.

Grappa is similar, but not the same. It is the powerful distillate made from grape pressings. Like the marc of France, to which it is related, it was long a workingman’s drink. Since its recent elevation to designer-drink status, better and better brands have been coming to the market. They’ve become so popular that good Italian restaurants in America seem to be competing to see who can stock the largest selection.

If you want to start stocking grappa s and eaux de vie s in your home, consider a new brand that has just hit the American market--one that offers more than just something to drink. The Poli distillates come in absolutely gorgeous hand-blown glass bottles that would be wonderful to have long after they’re empty.

There are two assortments from which to choose: five different kinds of grappa come in one set, offering the opportunity to taste your way through distillates of various grape pressings. The other contains fruit distillates--a gorgeous peach, a stunning cherry, a potent pear and three surprisingly different varieties of grape.

It’s the perfect present for the person who can appreciate power and beauty in the same package.

Poli Assortment of Grappa sells for $195 for five bottles; the distillate assortment is $295 for six bottles. Both are available at Wally’s Liquor in West Los Angeles (213) 475-0606.