< pummeled in the face by a cube of alcohol-soaked marble. >

You say that like that's a bad thing...

Finally...After All These Years...My Pet Rock Will Finally Have Some Friends To Play With!!!

No thanks, I already have plenty of stones.

Batman4oz wrote:So...THAT's what became of Pet Rocks!

Can't you just Freeze your liquor in ice cube trays and put Them in your drinks?! (Does liquor even freeze...I don't drink, so don't hate me for not knowing!)

And....if I drop My Stones into something, isn't that called Tea-Bagging?!

Thank you...tip your waitress...I'll be here all week!

^^X^^

Liquor will freeze but (off the top of my head) alcohol itself freezes at about -110C to -105C. Your average 80 proof liquor will freeze around -45 degrees, so unless your freezer runs that low, no, the coca cola ice tray trick wont work. Truth be told, I can't remember if it was F or C on the temperatures, but -40I is where they overlap anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

I bought a set of these for the boyfriend last year, and it works like a charm. Granite(pun intended), they are a bit different, but the concept is brilliant.
Whiskey, Scotch Whisky, Cognac, room temperature white wine, everything can be chilled. I've even used them for tea. Just be careful when tilting the glass back. If you aren't, you might break a tooth.

1wally1 wrote:what;s wrong with getting rocks from the back yard and saving the $6.00 for another woot...?

YOU HAVE A POINT, THAT'S HOW THE SCOTTISH DID IT BEFORE REFRIGERATION CAME ALONG SCOTCH master RICHARD PATERSON with the MILLION DOLLAR NOSE explains it here

OK, here's the scoop...I love my whiskey stones.

I like bourbon, and I drink it neat.

I don't WANT my bourbon to be as cold as ice, I am not willing to sacrifice my love.

If you are concerned that because you are drinking bourbon chilled by these rocks you might chip a tooth or break a glass, you're a baby. Be a man. Maybe you need the "whiskey cute little pink and green umbrella" instead.

But seriously, I drink bourbon, sometimes I like to sip it for a while, and these make the drink colder than it would be without them. Not ice cold, for ice cold, you want ice. BUT...these do not water down the drink (I hate water in drinks).

They are easy to clean, keep them in the freezer in a little cloth bag so as not to absorb odors, and, pun intended, they rock.

And come on, next time someobe is over your house and asks for a drink "on the rocks," you know you're gonna use these...

And in conclusion, I offer this black and white exchange:

Bartender: What'll it be?
Bogart: Bourbon
Bartender: How do you want it?
Bogart: In a glass.

capjones1 wrote:Just found an awesomely scientific take on granite as a ice alternative. (Credit to FlyFish at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/302440)

By FlyFish on Aug 3, 2005 09:57 AM

Not sure I understand ... whiskey stones aren't supposed to perform like ice AND they are made from soapstone which has much different qualities than granite making said result not relevant even if they were supposed to do the same things as ice.

Having used whiskey stones (or as spelled in the UK) whisky stones, I must say that they do work as advertised. I, however, have concluded that I prefer one or two pieces of ice because as the ice melts in the whisky the whisky continually changes (in both strength and flavor) which adds to the experience.

Woot is killing it today. I picked up three of these and three of the aerators over at Wine. Spent $100 before I even got out of bed.

Sorry... even in the coldest of freezers, these things barely stay cold at all. Their impact on your drink: marginal at best. This is a novelty and not a solution. Don't recommend.

STOP BEFORE YOU BUY!
DON't RUIN YOUR DRINK!
BROUGHT TO YOU BY CONCERNED WOOTERS ANONIMOUS.

SCOTCH master RICHARD PATERSON with the MILLION DOLLAR NOSE explains it here

I have a set of these and recommend them for “Neat” drinkers. Bourbon and Scotch are the room temp drinks I enjoy and these chill just enough to take that warm edge off. These are not for real cold drinks like Vodka, Rum, etc…I never had a problem with them picking up fridge odors, nor scratching my glasses. They clean by rinsing them under running water. Mine were a gift and were close to $20 originally. Functional if you use them for their intended purpose, and a conversation piece.

But, I like my whiskey a little watered down!

drycappucino wrote:Having used whiskey stones (or as spelled in the UK) whisky stones, I must say that they do work as advertised. I, however, have concluded that I prefer one or two pieces of ice because as the ice melts in the whisky the whisky continually changes (in both strength and flavor) which adds to the experience.

----------------------------
you are almost there!
SCOTCH master RICHARD PATERSON with the MILLION DOLLAR NOSE explains it here

Do these need to be kept in the freezer or are they naturally cold like the walls of my basement?

Grrr. I should learn that Woot reruns things. When I didn't get these last time, I was so disappointed. So on Black Friday when thinkgeek.com had them for $13, I jumped on the chance. Regrets, I have a few...

You'll Love my stones !

fivemtz wrote:Do these need to be kept in the freezer or are they naturally cold like the walls of my basement?

The should be kept in the freezer.

I have Kidney Stones- anyone want them for free? I'll even pay shipping!

Any wine guys/gals out there? Been thinking of packing these to dinner out cuz when the red wine comes invariably far too warm than cellar temp for my liking. I am imagining dropping a few cubes in a glass at dinner to cool down the wine (presuming I can keep the cubes cool getting to restaurant) . Hopefully i can remember to spoon them out of the glass of course.

Who was Issac Newton? I have heard of an Isaac Newton...

W A R N I N G ! These L@@K really cool and they sound really cool, but they aren't. I bought them, HAD to have them, thought they were the answer to the many problems with ice, but they are NOT.

They BARELY cool off the drink. They are VERY hard and heavy, and if they let loose from the bottom of the glass while you are drinking, they can break your teeth or give you a black eye.

The WORST part is that they actually smell. You cannot tell when they are dry or frozen, but when they get wet in your drink, they make the drink taste like CRAP.

I WASHED them carefully and kept them in a clean, scent-free freezer in a ziplock bag and STILL, they made the drink undrinkable.

Don't even THINK about using them in soda, they make the carbonation disappear instantly.

["MichaelSF"]I never saw the Life of BRAIN

We tried to rent Life of Brian down here, but the clerk couldnt find it. Later they came up with it, cataloged as "Life of Brain." No wonder.

$11 with ship for rocks? I can get rocks from my back yard and put them in the freezer.

I recommend these from Williams Sonoma. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/skybar-whiskey-chill-drops/?pkey=e%7CSkybar%7C6%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C6&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_- They are the size of a rocks glass and truly chill your drink. They are easy to clean as well...because they are metal though, don't stick your tongue on them when they leave the freezer...I felt like the kid from A Christmas Story! Lol

I am ordering some for Christmas Gifts. Unusual enough, and I am sure noone else in my circle will give these. I have some of these that are actually called humidistone or something, used to provide humidity to potted indoor plants, such as orchids, and violets. They work fantastic in winter when I bring plants indoors and the heat dries the air so. Although the soapstone dies not absorb the moisture it tends to hold it around the bottom of the pot. Maybe here is another very good use for them!

erasure101 wrote:i received these as a gift a while back and here's my take:

pros:
-doesn't dilute the whisky
-only slightly cools the whisky (some people, like myself, don't like their booze too cold)
-looks cool

cons:
-only slightly cools the whisky (if you like a cold sip, ice is far more effective at lowering the temperature and keeping it cold)
-can scratch glasses
-might crack the glass or chip a tooth if you're not careful

that said, i like my whisky room temperature. the change in temperature using the rocks was hardly noticeable. if you like your libations undiluted and very cold, you're better off putting the bottle in the freezer. if you like your dram unadulterated and slightly below room temperature, you're better off putting your tumbler in the freezer.

Thank you for this information.

Been waiting for these to show back up..... In for 3

I think I could build a nice center hall colonial (4BR, 2.5BR) with about 76 million of these little guys.

How many you got, Woot?!

Aaah, reminds me of the good'ol days when they used to sell rocks as pets (The Pet-Rock). Now rocks as a companion for your drinks (Swimming-Rocks). What will they think of next?

It seems that with a little science, you can realize that most of ice's temperature drop is from enthalpy in phase change. Ice will get the liquid down to as close to 32 degrees as possible while there is still ice to melt.

Whiskey stones won't do that, but if you chill them even more (in a chest freezer for instance) they should chill your drink more than if you put them in the regular freezer. Unlike ice, putting them in a 0 degree freezer versus a 20 degree freezer will have a profound effect on how cold your drink can get.

This would be good for whiskey where you put the bottle in the freezer, but aren't supposed to add ice to the glass for the best taste. These rocks will help it stay cold, while maintaining taste. They may not make room-temperature drinks cold, but should help an already cold drink stay cold.

kadsworld wrote:I chew my ice. These would be a disaster.

Well Tom Wolfe liked to chew his glass, so it's not impossible I suppose...

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/25/132315481/amy-sedaris-plays-not-my-job

I've gotten whiskey stones several times from partaking in too much whiskey. Oh wait - That was whiskey d*#k. My bad.

This is the important part: most of the cooling from ice doesn't happen because it's cold; it happens because it melts.

Melting is an endothermic reaction and removes energy from the drink.

capjones1 wrote:Just found an awesomely scientific take on granite as a ice alternative. (Credit to FlyFish at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/302440)

"No. Here's why:

Let's assume that the stone "ice" cubes are made of granite and are 1-inch square (I'm going to work the rest of this explanation in SI [metric] units because it's easier and those are the units I use every day - a cubic inch is equivalent to about 16 cubic centimeters [cc]). Let's assume further that you have one of them, which has been kept in your freezer at minus 15 degrees C (more or less zero F) and you want to use it to cool a 100cc glass of water at room temperature (which we'll define as 20 degrees C). Let's also make the simplifying assumption that adding the cube to the drink doesn't change the overall mass of the system - it remains at 100 cc (which, for water, is also 100 milliliters and 100 grams).

The specific heat, which is a measure of how much heat a particular material can hold per unit mass, of granite is about 0.2 (water is defined as 1.0), which means that 0.2 calorie of heat is required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of granite by 1 degree C, and the specific gravity of granite is about 2.6 (again, water is defined as 1). If we multiply all that together, that means that the granite ice cube requires 8.5 calories of heat to warm up by 1 degree C. When you put it in your drink, it absorbs that heat from the 100 cc of water, so how much does the water cool down? Well, there's 35 C degrees difference between the granite and the water, so the granite will absorb 35 X 8.5, or about 300 calories, which will cool the water by about 3 degrees C (one calorie of heat removed from 100 cc of water will cool it by .01 degree, so .01 X 300 = 3 degrees).

Now let's work the same problem with water ice, instead of granite, all other conditions being the same. The water has a specific gravity and specific heat of 1.0, so the 16 cc ice cube will absorb 16 calories of heat per degree C of warm-up, which means (all things being equal, which they're not, as I'll explain in a second) it will decrease the temperature of the glass of water by 16 X 35 calories, or about 5.6 degrees C, nearly double the granite.

But here's the kicker, and this is the big difference: as it absorbs heat, the water ice not only warms up, it also melts, and as water goes from solid ice at 0 degrees C to water at 0 degrees C, there is additional energy required and it's substantial - 80 calories per cc, so in addition to the 16 X 35 calories needed to warm it up, there's an additional 16 X 80 calories required to melt it, for a total of 16 X 115 calories, which is sufficient to cool the glass of water by a whopping 18.4 degrees C (as compared, remember, to only 3 degrees C for the granite).

So, it's really the heat of fusion that makes ice such a good cooler of things, and that only kicks in as the ice melts. Melting granite would also release it's latent heat of fusion (and I don't offhand know how many calories per gram that might be), of course, but that occurs at a temperature that's of less interest for cooling drinks."

By FlyFish on Aug 3, 2005 09:57 AM

A good whiskey (with an e - can you tell I'm Irish) needs a splash of water to bring out the flavors and aromas. My Dad back in the old country adds just one ice cube.

If you're going to use these stones save them for the whisky (i.e. Scotch) or bourbon.

If you want to try this for free..

Soap stone can be bought for $1.00 at Harbor Freight or
any welding supply . It's used to mark , like a pencil, on metal
because it's soft and white.

Why these are black may have something to do with the fact
they're from a 'process' . Personally I would NOT use thie woot
product and if I tried the experiement buying welder's marking
stones (they're shaped like a pencil only more square about 1/2" x 4" ..
I would not drink until I did a lot
more research on where the mineral
is found, in the presence of what other elements and what kind of
compounds and such it can be associated
with.

Personally I don't know what soap stone
is used for commercially except carving. i'd find that out for sure before I used this product. Then I'd
decide how likely this or any soapstone might be contaminated.

And if they come from China.. I would never.. never eat anything from
China that was productized unless
it was from a super reputable company.

I admit that it's interesting that they hold heat or cold... but anything holds heat and cold.

They're not very massive.. they're light like chalk (not quite that light) and so they could not
possibly hold much heat.. water holds the most heat per size of the water.

If you want this then get some water filled ice cubes or better yet make your own using
a bit of salty (have to experiment a bit) because it will / should hold more cold ..
just fill small bottles partially with water or when you're SURE they won't leak you can
use some of a cooler freezer chemical (which I think is not toxic anyway) .. but
when you're sure the bottles won't leak use them to hold frozen water.

You can try tiny bottles made of

pete - it's the coke / pepsi plastic bottle .. it's super strong and they have tight tops (because of the way the plastic melts)

Laboratory -Nalgene bottles 20ml or 30ml bottles - I forget the plastic name but they seal well. just don't fill them but 60% with water
or they might break open.

If you use fresh water you can try pill bottles or any bottle from the store.. if it's fresh water then it won't matter if it leaks a few drops.

As far as the heating up part goes.. don't heat any bottle with liquid.

This idea is a bit dull .. and made for children who have money that an adult wants to steal from them. If you really are curious buy
real soap stone and heat it or cool it and see how it behaves.

Then if it really works.. you can find out how likely it is to have
arsenic, lead, mercury, or other toxic metals in it.

it's sad to see people buying stuff
like this for it's intended use..
i hope that if you buy it.. you'll
spend at least 2 or 3 hours learning
something from your purchase.. or
your destined to be more stupid
than your parents. and maybe
even your dog.. because he would
NEVER send a CC to woot for these.

aaronjamison wrote:Why do rocks need a warranty and why is it only 1 year?

These are older product, reaching the end of their 50,000,000 year lifespan.

I wonder about the taste-changing potential. Perhaps they are specifically whiskey stones because scotch already tastes like rocks.