Whisky Stones? Yes, that’s right, Whisky Stones.
OK so this story have been a long time coming. This is my first story for the re-launch of Whiskychat.com
One of the main things that got me back on track with this site is, of all things, Twitter. I would have never believed it but there is any amazing Whisk(e)y / Bourbon niche on Twitter that happily took me in with open arms to join with them and talk about our love for all things Whisk(e)y.
So where do the Whisky Stones come in, your wondering? Well one of the first people I had some interaction with on Twitter was Mr. Andrew Hellman who goes by WhiskyDaze. From his Twitter profile I found my way to Teroforma and a very interesting product called Whisky Stones.
I soon become very interested in what these stones can bring to my whisky drinking experience. To give you a little information on what Whisky Stones are & what they do, here is a quote from the Teroforma website.
“More mellow than ice, our natural soapstone Whisky Stones™ will cool your next dram just enough to take the edge off without diluting its perfectly balanced flavors. Milled exclusively for Teroforma in Vermont by some of the oldest soapstone workshops in the US, simply chill the stones in the freezer, add 3 or so to your glass of spirits, let stand for 5 minutes and enjoy!”
So you see you take the neat little soapstone “cubes” chill them then add them to your dram of choice to give it a bit of a chill without diluting your drink with ice that would melt. Personally, I immediately thought ‘Wow – that is genius’ and that I really have to get some as I think it is something definitely worth giving a try. Well no sooner am I thinking that I ‘need’ these, the awesome folks over at Teroforma ship me over a set of samples to put through their paces.
So, now comes the hard part – what to choose as the first drink to try with the stones. I spent a good day or two thinking about this a bit, as normally I drink most of my whisky ‘neat’, I had to put a little thought into the right choice. Then it hit me .. now some of my Whisky tweeps (that’s my whisky friends on twitter) might not totally agree, as Canadian Whisky doesn’t get a lot of discussion, I have a Canadian Whisky that is truly one of my favorites and it is definitely a ‘sipper’ that would surly benefit from the chill of the Whisky Stones without the drawback of the ice dilution. My choice was a nice couple finger pour of Crown Royal Cask No. 16 an amazing product of the Crown Royal line.
So after chilling the Whisky Stones for a good day whilst I decided on the right whisky, I sat down for a nice glass of Cask No. 16 with a couple Whisky Stones. I put three of the stones in the glass and the made the pour of the whisky. I let it sit for a spell while choosing something to accompany me and my dram on TV. Next was to sit back and relax and see what the drink was like.
Well .. I absolutely loved it .. the Whisky Stones had brought a mellow chill to the glass that opened up the Whisky just right, but that’s only the beginning. As I mentioned I love to just sip the Cask No. 16 and let it keep me company for a while. What the Whisky Stones did was provide the ability to maintain just that mellow chill while not altering the composition of the whisky & allowed for the glass to be enjoyed over a period of time without having to worry if the dram was getting to watered down. I have to say that for my first run with the Whisky Stones I have to give them a major thumbs up.
Now my conclusion is not always shared by everyone, some people think its just a gimmick, some don’t care for the look of the stones in the glass, or the ‘thought’ of the stones in the glass. Some whisky ‘purest’ totally dismiss the idea of something like the Whisky Stones, but really, how many of us are purest and how many of us are just whisky lovers or enthusiasts?
I know that I enjoy whisky and drinking whisky and that if something like Whisky Stones can make that even more enjoyable for me then I say I am all for it.
Andrew
22 Jun, 2009
Hi Tom – great post! Glad you enjoyed the stones and many thanks for the kind words!
Andrew at Teroforma
Tom
23 Jun, 2009
Thanks again Andrew for the sample – and for stopping by and reading the review.
–Tom
whiskeybusiness
6 Jul, 2009
I had never heard of these whiskey stones, but it makes sense to me. Nice article, Tom.
Tom
6 Jul, 2009
Thanks -
Yeah they are definitely really cool – I was going to see if I could get you a good rate on like 4 or so boxes & see if you wanted to sell a few at the shop.
Let me know if you stop back and see this comment.
Miles
24 Aug, 2009
These things looks great, but unfortunately they haven’t worked so well for me. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to dump all nine of them in my glass before I notice any sort of chilling effect.
Read my review if you want!
Tom
2 Sep, 2009
Miles – thanks for dropping by & commenting.
tom nook
19 Nov, 2009
i would worried about them adding an unpleasant taste to the whiskey. so have you tried them in just water to see if the taste of the water is altered?
Tom
20 Nov, 2009
I did not notice any taste altering. But that is a great suggestion to add them to water and see if anything is noticed that way.
Thanks
–Tom
James
11 Dec, 2009
I’m thinking of buying some of these, the first thing that comes into my mind is the idea of the stones scratching my glass or breaking it, they’re stones and therefore probably heavy, have you had any problems to that effect?
Tom
12 Dec, 2009
Actually no problems there. Used them in some of my best crystal glasses and there were no issues. The stone that is used is actually not that heavy and the edges are all nice and rounded off on them too.
Carol
21 Dec, 2009
Would like to know how long they take to chill, and how long they stay chilled?
HipsterHome
1 Apr, 2010
Tom, we’ve been selling the stones in our store for quite a while now and the consensus seems to be really good by my customers. What I love about the stones is that they’re not so cold that the congeal the oil in the whiskey (which dulls the flavor). This is a fact that is highly overlooked and needs to be talked about. Chilling your favorite dram requires a delicate temperature chill which the stones provide perfectly. For me it’s the stones or nothing at all.
Elaine
21 Jun, 2010
Tom wich other trend is in the Whiskey World, besides the Whiskey Stones. And is there a way to buy Whiskey Stones by internet even if I am in Latinamerica?
Nick
29 Jul, 2010
can’t seem to get my stones cold enough. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this. Is this a quality issue of the type of stones or are stones not effective.
HipsterHome
12 Aug, 2010
we’ve been selling the Whiskey Stones for over a year now and they are consistently a big hit. They really help to take the heat off of the whiskey without affecting the taste. Give em a try.
eddie
12 Aug, 2010
me too, I thought they were really cool….but i cant get them to really cool a drink. I think their a hoax…
julia taylor
19 Aug, 2010
We JUST got Whiskey Stones here in Australia and they are SUPER! I used them in my vodka the other night and the worked perfectly! I only have one box and wish I had more. Friends love them when they come over. Where can we get more???
julia taylor
19 Aug, 2010
P.S. Sorry–I should mention a friend brought them from the USA. Australia needs Whiskey Stones!!!