Stone Cold

Designer Rocks Block Cocktail Dilution

By Warren Rojas

Photography by Hana Jung

Many single-malt purists firmly believe the only thing you should ever add to a glass of scotch is—well, more scotch.

Perhaps they should relax and get a little stoned.

Partners Howard Lahti and Dan Boyd have struck upon a way to chill premium scotch by utilizing freezer-friendly, polished granite cubes instead of any residual matter. Their hand-carved drink accessories are made from imported Scottish granite, which is carefully cut, shaped and polished into cocktail-friendly dimensions and arrive in a handsome, walnut storage case that also includes twin, crystal sipping glasses.

The stones can be frozen—the manufacturer recommends stowing them away in your icebox for at least four hours before introducing them to your favorite adult beverage—and are reusable ad infinitum.

But do they really work?

We took one for the team and hunkered down with several glasses of single-malt scotch (one straight, one with crushed ice and one with the frozen rocks) to see.

The raw whiskey was delicious (strong honey character with just a bit of peat), but remained predictably harsh (at least for the uninitiated). The iced whisky chilled the quickest, but also turned about two shades lighter (went from caramel to straw yellow as the ice melted) within five minutes. The rocked whisky was mellower and just a tad smoother than its au naturel counterpart and remained chock-full of honey and smoke past the five-minute mark.

The rocked glass, however, never did get quite as cold as the iced beverage.

The specialty whisky chilling rocks are available online at: www.sippinontherocks.com.

(April 2008)

Tags: Chew on this