Whiskey stone?

[glenlivet]

I just got, as a 'stocking stuffer,' a whiskey stone. It's a small cube of granite that you freeze in your ice tray (or wherever you think you can find it again) which, when placed in your glass, keeps it cold without diluting it further.

Now, notice I used the whiskEy spelling, as no one in their right mind could possibly EVER chill the 'good stuff.'

Any of you folks ever use this? I'm also wondering about porosity--it's not polished. I suppose I just need to rinse it really well before refreezing?

[gary meakin]

Is this where having a drink "on the rocks" came from?

[glenlivet]

Is this where having a drink "on the rocks" came from?

Oh, snap, walked right into that one!!

[ForresterModern]

Is this where having a drink "on the rocks" came from?

Actually, "on the rocks" was coined to describe something "over ice", but that is where the trade name for one version of this product, "On the Rocks" comes from, even though these are stones. I had one set of 9 stones I recieved as a gift last year, and recieved another set of 9 this year, again as a gift from a different friend who knows I like my scotch whisky.

The stones do need to be rinsed and dried before putting them in the freezer. They do chill a drink without diluting its contents with melted water as would ice. They do require thorough rinsing and drying again after use before returning to the freezer. They are not porous and are not supposed to add to or detract from the natural flavor of whatever drink you put them in, although I suppose if you put them in something particularly acidic or basic that that might not be the case with prolonged exposure.

I have only used them once, with a particularly potent bourbon I was trying out after discovering that I did not enjoy its fullness neat and at room temperature. Addition of a few "rocks" did drop the temperature significantly making the bourbon more palatable, but still not to my personal liking. As above stated I would personally NOT put these in my own glass of fine single malt scotch whisky, but I do know that others sometimes prefer theirs cold and others diluted with water or both.

Mine stay in their little bag in the freezer awaiting a visitor with a thirst who might like to try them, hopefully not with my "good" scotch.

One note---be careful when using them with fine glasses to gently place them in the glass so as not to break the fine glass itself by just plunking them in carelessly.

[glenlivet]

I sit corrected, it may be soapstone, not granite.
(hope it doesn't affect the taste, nyuk nyuk For the humor impaired among you, that's a joke)

[CDNSushi]

Until recently, I had always enjoyed my good scotches neat (i.e. without "rocks"). Those blocks of granite would have been ideal. But it was someone on this site, corroborated by another reputable source, that taught me that it may not actually be the best way to enjoy an expensive whisky. Apparently, a wee bit of ice (water) does "unlock" certain flavours that would otherwise not be apparent or discernible. There is some chemical/scientific reason for this, from what I read. So now, I generally tend to have my drinks with a single ice cube to chill my drink (yes, I do like my whisky somewhat cold) and also to (hopefully) achieve the aforementioned effect.

[glenlivet]

Until recently, I had always enjoyed my good scotches neat (i.e. without "rocks"). Those blocks of granite would have been ideal. But it was someone on this site, corroborated by another reputable source, that taught me that it may not actually be the best way to enjoy an expensive whisky. Apparently, a wee bit of ice (water) does "unlock" certain flavours that would otherwise not be apparent or discernible. There is some chemical/scientific reason for this, from what I read. So now, I generally tend to have my drinks with a single ice cube to chill my drink (yes, I do like my whisky somewhat cold) and also to (hopefully) achieve the aforementioned effect.

I grant you this is true (about the water 'unlocking' the flavors), and for when I can get a good single malt, I do usually imbibe this way. I presume the same principle might work with quality bourbons, too.

What's the ideal ratio of whisk(e)y to water, then? If I put my glass on a kitchen scale and tared it out, then would it be something like 1 g of water to 20 g of whisk(e)y?

[mookien]

My kids gave me a bag of "Whisky Rocks" soapstone cubes for Christmas 2010. While I liked the idea in theory, in practice I only used them for a short time. For me they were a bit cumbersome and only provided minimal cooling.

I like most scotch slightly chilled. Room temperature at my house is typically around 65 - 70 F, but I prefer scotch at a bit above refrigerator temperature, ~ 40 - 45 F. Before I drink it neat, I put the glass into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or so.

I also drink some malts on the rocks and have noticed the same positive effect on flavor described by CDNSushi. But, a word of ...

CAUTION: Some malts take on an unpleasant (to me, anyway) soapy flavor when mixed with almost any amount of water. Examples include Oban, Clynelish, Edradour, Ben Riach, et. al., but I had to experiment to discover which ones are "offenders". Life's tough, isn't it?

[ForresterModern]

I drink virtually all my various single malts neat and at room temperature. The exceptions are those that are cask strength (usually high 50's-low 60's% abv) which I might add a few drops of water to, more to thin out the overwhelming alcohol bite (as these tend to be far "hotter" in the mouth than those at normal 40-46% abv, that "heat" effectively hiding the other flavors somewhat) than to release any additional flavors. (If you can't tell yet I am one of the skeptics of the "add a little water" school of scotch whisky drinking). Most whisky afficionados will tell you that chilling/cooling the whiskey will actually hide the flavors therein, as the taste buds are less able to perform their function on cold liquids than room temp or warm. Hence the reason that most European beers are drunk at room temperature (to reap the fuller flavors) and historically since Prohibition was repealed most American beers have been drunk cold (because after prohibition was repealed there were only a relative few breweries able to ramp back into production, and most of those used relatively inferior grains and hops to make the weak and generally tasteless beers that were typical of what was available DURING prohibition, those generally needed to be drunk cold in order to be tolerated). Cold stuns the taste buds to most of the vivid floral and malty flavors present in European (and American Microbrew) beers and generally lacking in the mass-production Big Three american beers. Same effect with cold scotch. (Prohibition essentially killed the American liquor and beer industry for at least half a century. Example, when I lived in Cincinnati, a town with deep German heritage, I learned that before prohibition there were more small local breweries in Cincinnati than their were churches; after prohibition there were maybe 6-10 able to ramp back into production and that dwindled to only a couple by the 1970's. Microbrews in the 80's and 90's helped revive the old style of brewing beers but we are still nowhere near the plethora of varieties available locally before prohibition.).

Just my tuppence.

[glenlivet]

CAUTION: Some malts take on an unpleasant (to me, anyway) soapy flavor when ...

aw crap, used that joke already