The point of ice cubes is to dilute the liquor and 'open up' the flavors. If the liquor is over 40 proof adding ice will slowly add a little water to it to enhance the tasting experience.

The exact opposite of a solid is probably a gas.
I mean, just sayin'.

jeffdoh wrote:Imagine if they took the incredibly reassuring "generally regarded as safe" and simply moved the word generally to the end:

"Regarded as safe, generally."

or:

"Regarded as safe. Generally"

That's what the FDA says when instead of testing a product, it just googles it for a while

I find it amusing that Woot! is using the rocks in a mug of tea. They are called "whiskey stones" for a reason.

i think it's interesting that the "Tumbling process wears down the edges" but yet at the same time they "Never wear out".......

The key is latent heat of fusion, the phase chg from solid to liquid (i.e. melting) requires a s#$t load of heat, hence ice cools the drink considerably. These don't melt so can only cool a little bit through taking a little heat from the liquid to reach an equilibrium temp a bit cooler that the liquid started at. But I think the point is its a pun and a unique approach to "on the rocks" not a replacement for ice. I bought 3 for gifts.

cheesefood75 wrote:The point of ice cubes is to dilute the liquor and 'open up' the flavors. If the liquor is over 40 proof adding ice will slowly add a little water to it to enhance the tasting experience.

You're better off using a little spring water to open up the flavor profile of good scotch. Using ice, or anything cold for that matter, only numbs your tongue which negates the exercise of trying to open up the flavor profle in the first place.

In for one, as high end Minecraft slingshot ammunition.

The stones are not intended to keep anything ice cold. They should be used to drop the temperature of a room temp drink such as scotch or bourbon (2 to 3 ounces) maybe 15 to 20 degrees. They have a specific purpose, and fit that very well. They obviously do not water down the alcohol.

For once, rocks that aren't just in my head!

Just drink the whiskey neat!

In for 2! Got a drinker on my list who would love these!

So we're sure these are new, right? Not a refurb?

Come on people, they're not called "Pepsi Stones". You don't drop 9 of them in a tall glass of soda. They're not meant to replace ice. We don't need a 3 page dissertation on how ice works and the thermodynamic properties of granite. They're meant to put a slight chill in a small 2-3 oz glass of whiskey (or other liquor), or to hold a little extra heat in your tea or coffee. Did you read the description first?

Woot didn't just come up with "hey, let's find a way to sell rocks" to take your money. Whiskey Stones are for sale on thinkgeek.com and amazon.com, with "Generally Regarded As Safe" reviews! These are actual things that actual people use!

If you want to put a slight chill in your (small) drink, and look cool doing it, drop $5.99 for these stones. They're normally around $20 if you don't catch them on sale. If you want COLD and watered down, use ice. If you want COLD and not watered down, stick the bottle in the freezer. But again, these whiskey stones are not meant to get a drink COLD.

You gotta admit, it sure beats scissors.

I like to chew the ice after I empty my drink. Will these chip my teeth?

spyderkeeper wrote:Why wouldn't you just put your whiskey in the freezer or refrigerator?

That tends to make it to cold.

woolygums wrote:Lima
Oscar
Lima

Oscar. Mike. Golf. I just love all the inside jokes. Takes me back. Maybe I should write them all down. Now, if I could only find my ID-10 tango form.... Maybe I call them in to my (say it with me now)....

Dooood wrote:Heh, "Generally Regarded As Safe".

Noice.

I thought they might have gone with "mostly harmless", instead.

Excellent! I've been hoping these would reappear on Woot. Just ordered three; one for myself and two as gifts. Now, to figure out who I'll be giving the other two sets to...

Will they work in Rum?









HEHEHE.......

I don't, personally, know anyone who drinks whiskey unless it's Scotch, and Scotch is SUPPOSED to have some water added to it to bring out the flavour. Ice is perfect for this task as it slowly turns to water (I think. I don't have an advanced degree in chemistry ;-). So these stones aren't worth their weight imho.

cheesefood75 wrote:The point of ice cubes is to dilute the liquor and 'open up' the flavors. If the liquor is over 40 proof adding ice will slowly add a little water to it to enhance the tasting experience.

Exactly. Amateurs don't bother to listen to pros often enough. I imagine these will mostly be "shown off" by those nerds with smelly jewfros, black rim glasses, and who try so hard to be so sophisticated.

Finally Woot.com helps me get my drink on!

jaymanmsu wrote:Whiskey Stones? What's next, Wine Dirt? Beer Gravel?

Of course not. You don't put gravel into beer, but rice corns, and only a couple, and only into wheat beer. I can send you some Original Beer Rice for $9.95 (free shipping!)

TheBishop78 wrote:So we're sure these are new, right? Not a refurb?

Come on people, they're not called "Pepsi Stones". You don't drop 9 of them in a tall glass of soda. They're not meant to replace ice. We don't need a 3 page dissertation on how ice works and the thermodynamic properties of granite. They're meant to put a slight chill in a small 2-3 oz glass of whiskey (or other liquor), or to hold a little extra heat in your tea or coffee. Did you read the description first?

Woot didn't just come up with "hey, let's find a way to sell rocks" to take your money. Whiskey Stones are for sale on thinkgeek.com and amazon.com, with "Generally Regarded As Safe" reviews! These are actual things that actual people use!

If you want to put a slight chill in your (small) drink, and look cool doing it, drop $5.99 for these stones. They're normally around $20 if you don't catch them on sale. If you want COLD and watered down, use ice. If you want COLD and not watered down, stick the bottle in the freezer. But again, these whiskey stones are not meant to get a drink COLD.

Will they make you look cool when you're nagging at kids to get off your lawn?

norin731 wrote:Finally Woot.com helps me get my drink on!

We're here to help.

spyderkeeper wrote:Why wouldn't you just put your whiskey in the freezer or refrigerator?

B/c the freezer is too cold.

So, a few clever wags have brought up the whole "Are these refurb" issue. Funny, sure. But the truth is, they are recycled. Recycled scraps. Says so right there on the front page!

Recycled soapstone from factory excess

Boredmaster wrote:Exactly. Amateurs don't bother to listen to pros often enough. I imagine these will mostly be "shown off" by those nerds with smelly jewfros, black rim glasses, and who try so hard to be so sophisticated.

There are two processes that affect the flavor profile when using ice.

The first is that adding water will cause the drink to "hold on" to water-loving (hydrophilic) molecules such as shorter alcohols, acids and aldehydes, shifting the observed flavor profile over more in the direction of the less water-loving (more oil-like or hydrophobic) flavor components, such as long alcohols and esters.

The second effect that ice has is to lower the temperature (duh) and thus the volatility of the drink in your mouth. This causes a longer spreading of flavor release, with the lighter, more volatile flavors becoming apparent first, and the less volatile flavors emerging later as the drink warms to body temperature while you gently roll the whisk(e)y around in your mouth.

By using whisky stones, you're only gaining this second effect. A purist might argue that you're tasting the real whisky that way, only spreading out the flavor release by cooling it a little. Ultimately, of course, it's all a matter of preference. Besides, half the people who get these will probably plonk them into their Jack-n-Coke and wish they'd used ice instead.

For six bucks, I bought 3 to give as gifts - they retail 20-25.

Anyone who likes a drink will appreciate these whether it be a nice single malt scotch, bourbon or even wine drinkers can use these to keep their drink cool (not cold) and not get diluted.

I like the idea that you can nuke em for 30 seconds and keep your warm drinks warm too.

For the folks that like a little water in their whiskey to make it bloom - they can add ONE ice cube to their dram and then these and they have a perfect drink that stays cool for at least 10-15 minutes.

You just can't go wrong for 6 bucks.

fhajad wrote:In for two. Drank with a friends set before. Perfect for late night rum and coke drinks in between vidja game rounds.

That's what I use them for! I'm not the only one!

Boredmaster wrote:I don't, personally, know anyone who drinks whiskey unless it's Scotch, and Scotch is SUPPOSED to have some water added to it to bring out the flavour. Ice is perfect for this task as it slowly turns to water (I think. I don't have an advanced degree in chemistry ;-). So these stones aren't worth their weight imho.

Hi, I drink whiskey and Scotch and like my Scotch neat with a glass of ice water on the side. Depending on the Scotch primarily but also on the day, my mood, my palate, etc. I add water into the Scotch and rarely an ice cube or two.

With these stones my Scotch starts out slightly colder than room temperature (awesome, don't need to water it down to get to a temperature and don't have to try shenanigans like putting the bottle in the freezer for 15 minutes) and I can still add water as needed to open up the flavors.

Compare this to your method which treats every Scotch the same and always adds ice and water. That's criminal. I'd have to keep a database of Scotches and how much ice/water to add if I did it your way.

Plus I'll experiment with the stones in red wine (you do know that you're "supposed" to drink red wine below room temperature right?) and tea/espresso which I tend to wait for it to cool and then drink all at once before it gets too cold. These things are theoretically brilliant and I can't wait to play around with my 27.

In for 3 will have to try before I gift!

Yeah you KNOW that you're headed for some trouble, if you take your whiskey home!

dorianslay wrote:You mean if I purchase three, I can triple up on shipping?? Done.
Three checks off my gift list.

My thinking exactly. Great for holiday work parties.

Woot! Just picked up my roommates Christmas gift. He's always off his rocker on Whiskey. This is toooooo perfect! =D

Actually, ice is a mineral (albeit one that has a relatively very low melting point).

http://webmineral.com/data/Ice.shtml

Rocks are minerals or combinations of several minerals.

So when you pour a drink on ice it is literally "on the rocks".

spyderkeeper wrote:Why wouldn't you just put your whiskey in the freezer or refrigerator?

because second or third degree cold burns from whiskey supercooled to -30 suck?

If it takes you that long to drink before diluting, you don't deserve to be drinking it anyway!!!!

Tap water can contain high levels chlorine and would spoil whisky. So your normal ice might not be good.

If you know a serious whiskey drinker, these will be a welcome gift, if they don't have stones already.

Sure there are a lot of posts about selling rocks, and warm or diluted whiskey sounds like a true first world problem, but in the end they're a great gift.