As has been previously said; bourbon, scotch, and Cognacs should all be served in a snifter and should only be about as warm as your body temperature. The reason there's so much surface area on the bottom of a snifter is because that's where you hold it, your hand warms it, and brings out the best taste from it at that temperature.
Microwaving is a no-no. I can't even imagine what that'll do the molecular structure, not to mention that the evaporation/boiling point of alcohol is a LOT lower than something such as water. Such is the concept of fermentation: bring the temperature up of an alcoholic concoction and the first thing to evaporate will be the alcohol, along with some other parts of the liquid that have a low boiling point. Catch it, let it recondense, and the product is a liquid that is much more refined and has much more alcohol.
A similar concept is that of the drinking temperature of ales and lagers. I'm sure we all know that all of the cheaper beers taste like absolute shit (moreso than they already do) when they're warm. There's a reason for this:
All of those beers are lagers, for the most part. Budweiser, Coors, MGD, etc. This means they're all fermented from a strain of bottom fermenting yeast, and bottom fermenting typically ferment at temperatures around 45-60 degrees, give or take.
Ales are the opposite. They're made using top-fermenting strains of yeast, which typically ferment at closer to room temperature. If you've ever noticed that a lot of the body, overall taste, and the nose (smell) of an ale comes out more once it warms up, there's your answer.
Yeah I'm not bored.
