Over time, the designs of whiskey stones continuously evolve. Soapstone is a soft stone easily shaped into spheres of squares without any sharp edges. When he first introduced whiskey stones to the market, they were only available as carved soapstone, a non-porous and dense metamorphic rock. The inspiration for whiskey stones is the Swedish cooling stones that Andrew saw hanging outside their house in the early 1900s. Fun FactsĪndrew Hellman invented whisky stones in 2007.
You can find different whiskey stone sizes, which you can store in the freezer. Also, there are stainless steel versions. Whiskey stones are usually made of small stones or cubes of non-porous natural soapstone commonly used to chill whiskey and other spirits. They help keep the drinks chilled without diluting anything to the whiskey’s flavor, which is a common trouble for whiskey drinkers when they add ice. And like soap stone, minerals passing for jade can contain asbestos.Whiskey stones, also known as whiskey rocks, are a reusable and sophisticated alternative to ice cubes. But "true" jade (there are two different minerals known as jade and a lot of other greenish minerals passed off as jade) can be a little pricey.
Whiskey stones full#
It was used by some aboriginals to boil water in reed baskets - heat up the stones to red hot, throw them into a basket full of water, and the water will boil almost instantly, yet the jade will not shatter (though I would not stake my eyes or a good scalding on it!). The very toughest stone, and probably the best for whiskey stones, would be jade. Eventually, it does flake off, but that is due to fracture lines created by the release of the unimaginable forces that are released within the granite as the pluton (dome) gradually rises to the surface of the Earth from deep within. The granite in the Sierras undergoes freezing and thawing repeatedly throughout the eons without cracking. On a large scale, the Sierra Nevada mountains are mostly granite, which is essentially quartz. Upon being squeezed, and in some electronic products it can be squeezed repeatedly over long periods of time, it will conduct a voltage, and it (almost, I guess) never fractures. On a small scale, quartz is used for its electrical properties. My brick I bought had some chips but they should work just as well as cubes, and they have some natural character :)Īctually, quartz is pretty tough. I cut them into sticks and then into cubes, it was amazingly quick and easy. If you don't have a chop saw, the stone is soft enough to be be cut by hand using a jewelers saw or hack saw. Update: I have successfully used a regular wood-cutting blade to cut a brick of soapstone, so that provides another option. It does make a dusty mess the cut it with the chop saw, remember your face mask! You could also use a stone cutting blade. If you decide to follow my example, know to cut slowly and let it eat the stone away to avoid chipping and breaking. I experiented and took a chance using a metal-cutting blade in the chop saw and it worked very well.
Soapstone is very soft so its easy to cut, but unfortunately it can also break easily. I used a sharpie to be able to see the line well when cutting, you'll sand it off later so you don't have to worry about it marking the stone. I measured out 1'' squares that I would cut and turn into cubes.