![]() ![]() If you’re a purist, you drink your whiskey neat. The first problem with whiskey stones is that they don’t improve the taste of - or experience drinking - the whiskey at all. (I’ll still probably do the PowerPoint for a PowerPoint party some other time.) Now, as a whiskey lover, I could make a PowerPoint presentation detailing all the reasons why whiskey stones gifting needs to stop, but in the interest of clear formatting I’m just going to lay it out for you here. It’s time to accept the truth we all know deep down - whiskey stones are not a good gift and nobody really likes them all that much. We’ve decided that, in the year of our lord 2020, the whiskey stone conspiracy must stop. And every year, we spend $30 on glorified rocks and perpetuate the myth that whiskey stones are a good gift and that people actually like getting them. Although the turbulence effect states that stirring or agitating a fluid will increase heat transfer, or cooling, a glass of whisky is just too small to yield any noticeable results, according to Sahin.Every year, during the holiday season, we struggle with an age-old question: What should I get that one uncle who I don’t really know anything about? And every year, we are told - by the holy trinity of friends, Google, and gift guides - that the answer to our question is: whiskey stones. Shaking and stirring is a good way to cool off a cocktail, but don’t get too carried away trying to cool off your whisky. So as the ice cube in your dram slowly melts, it is not only holding its cold temperature, but also cooling your whisky. It takes a crazy amount of energy to turn ice from solid to liquid, and according to latent heat, temperature change does not occur during a phase change. Stones have a lower heat capacity than ice, meaning it is way easier to raise the temperature of a stone than a piece of ice.Īs ice slowly melts, your whisky benefits from the power of a phase change. ![]() Heat capacity, or specific heat, refers to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a substance one degree. Those trendy little soapstones can’t match ice’s cooling powers thanks to a thermodynamic material property called heat capacity. The same volume of small cheater ice or crushed ice has much greater surface area than a single cube, therefore enhancing the cooling of the whisky. The verdict is in-the smaller ice made our whisky freezing cold-actually even colder: 23º F! That’s because the heat transfer, or the cooling process of the whisky, is proportional to the surface area of the ice. The Smaller the Ice, the Colder the Whisky Iskender Sahin, professor and associate chair of mechanical engineering at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, explains what’s happening in the glass. We tested each of these methods to evaluate the ways in which they cool and dilute whisky over time, so you can select the right fit for your whisky the next time you’re chillin’. At the extreme end, whisky stones promise to chill without dilution. Today, large, square ice cubes that melt slowly are de rigueur for both bars and at-home drinking. The next question: Which type of ice should you use in your drink of choice? Years ago, most bars served that hollow “cheater ice” designed to melt on contact and fill your glass. ![]() I f you enjoy an occasional whisky on the rocks, congratulations! You’ve already made the first of many difficult decisions whisky lovers face.
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