Whiskey Ice Balls or Stones: Your Guide To the Perfect Whiskey on Ice

There are few spirits in the world that drum up as much discourse as whiskey does when it comes to the perfect glass. Plenty of purists believe that a single drop of water or flake of ice ruins the whiskey experience. So it stands to reason that this article is going to draw head nods as well as a bit of ire depending on how you prefer your whiskey.

So let’s state our purpose here. If you like your whiskey cold, what provides the best experience: whiskey ice balls or spheres, or whiskey stones? Here’s what we found.

Who Wins: Whiskey Stones vs Ice?<H2>
When it comes to whiskey stones and ice, it must be said: quality matters. You can purchase whiskey stones online. The higher quality options can be made with anything, including amethyst and steel, but they are typically made with soapstone (you can find less expensive plastic versions online, too, but we don’t recommend that) which are placed in the freezer to chill and then added to the drink. The idea behind them is that they are not going to melt, and therefore, they won’t water down your drink. Here’s something we learned quickly: soapstone absorbs aromas. This isn’t so bad when they’re fresh out of the box, but if you have your stones in your freezer chilling atop a frozen pizza, next to some diced green pepper, and across from a half-empty pint of Häagen Dazs that you forgot about six months ago, you may find your drink tastes less than stellar when you drop your whiskey stones into it.

If soapstones are top-tier for whiskey stones, we’re going to compare them to top-tier ice: Craft ice. Craft ice, typically in a sphere, cube, or stick form, can be tricky to make, but they add a designer feel to any glass of whiskey while keeping the spirits cold throughout the drinking process. For this process, we used our handcrafted, slow melt ice sphere. We prefer whiskey balls or spheres due to their limited surface area-to-mass ratio, making them slower to melt than their cube counterparts, and less likely to water down the rich aromatics found in whiskey.

So who came out on top? Hands down, the whiskey ice spheres won. After about half an hour, the whiskey stones lost their chill, and the whiskey temperature started to rise. Having room temperature stones in the drink certainly didn’t help with the whiskey’s appeal or entice us to drink. Conversely, the craft ice spheres kept the liquid cold but were incredibly slow to melt. (Just for fun, we kept a glass in a standard, room temperature room. It took over 2 hours for the sphere to melt enough that the drink was unpalatable. Most people aren’t nursing a glass of whiskey that long.)

Whiskey on Ice or Ice on Whiskey?

It’s important to note that the way you pair ice and whiskey together matters. During our experiment, we poured the whiskey into a glass and, using tongs, placed the craft ice sphere into the glass. You can swirl the glass once or twice to let the liquid chill faster or allow the ice ball to do its job and cool the whiskey over time. This process is key for whiskey drinkers that prefer cold whiskey but prefer not to water the spirit down.

If you do want to water your whiskey down a little bit (we aren’t here to judge), and want it cold, you’ll want to place the ice into your glass first. Then, slowly pour the whiskey over the sphere. This will likely ruin the shape of your sphere a little bit, and it will water the whiskey down a little faster because you’re pouring room temperature liquid over ice, but it might be the way you prefer to drink your whiskey.

So whiskey on ice or ice on whiskey? We prefer craft ice on whiskey, but we also prefer everyone enjoys their drinks exactly how they want them.

Where to Buy Whiskey Ice Balls?

If you are looking for high-quality, craft whiskey ice balls, look no further. Our ice spheres are created through a proprietary process to create the perfect ice every time. This process includes:
State-of-the-art freezing techniques
Science-backed water filtration and purification
Rigorous quality control standards
Our craft ice spheres are slow to melt, and they won’t interfere with the flavors of your drinks like other products do.

Want to try Quari handcrafted ice?
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