Ultra-cold whiskey stones.

I frequently use whiskey stones to keep mixed beverages cool, but they tend to warm up pretty quickly. I'm curious as to whether anyone has tried cooling them with either dry ice or liquid nitrogen. Would those cool a drink for that much longer? Would they badly damage the flavor profile of a drink by causing some initial freezing when first dropped in? Just wondering if anybody with access to the super fun cold stuff has tried this out.

Find more posts tagged with

Everything Else

Comments

Brendan_Lee_56950

My guess would be that they would be able to get colder initially but that they wouldn't stay cold any longer than they would regularly. I think when guys like Dave Arnold chill glasses with LN it's to get the entirety of the glass cold very quickly and to avoid having ice dilute the drink but that it doesn't really change the material's ability to retain heat/cold.

Chris_Young_80640

The problem is that there is no phase change occurring. It takes a huge amount of thermal energy to melt ice, which is why it is so effective at keeping drinks cold. The amount of energy to raise the temperature of a substance (ice or stones) is very small compared to the amount required to change from solid to liquid, and thus, even starting with very cold stones doesn't buy you much. Plastic coated ice cubes will basically work about 150 times better.

dcohanim

Ah yes, latent heat is what does all the heavy work in ordinary ice. I had forgotten. Plastic coated ice cubes you say? Maybe there is a Kickstarter idea in there somewhere...

Thanks!

Matt_67991

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/745763505/spirit-steels-the-ultimate-beverage-cooling-device

Chris_Young_80640

Of course there is a Kickstarter for this! And now I want some. Thanks @Henri

Jack_Mayer_85396

Curses on you @Henri! Now I want some spirit steels ... Seriously, thanks for the tip!

dcohanim

Balls of steel, eh? I like it! Thanks for the tip @Henri. Hope to give them a try and report back. Eventually.