However, not all rocks are created equal. One element of the effect ice has on bourbon is that as the ice melts, it adds water to the drink. The added water can smooth out your drink and plays the biggest role in altering the flavor of your bourbon. This can be favorable, but sometimes you want to preserve the flavor of a neat bourbon while having it chilled.

One option that can help reduce watering down your drink is to use one large ice cube instead of multiple small cubes. With less surface area, the large ice cube will introduce less water into the drink.

Better yet, you can pick yourself up a set of whiskey stones. These chilling cubes usually come as either granite or stainless steel; both work equally well. Whiskey stones are stored in your freezer until they are ready to be used. When put in a drink, these stones will chill the drink without introducing any additional water, thus effectively chilling the drink without changing the flavor profile.

Personally, I prefer my drinks neat, so I am more favorable toward whiskey stones over ice. I have a set of stainless steel cubes like these that work perfectly. If you’re interested in granite, these are a nice set. In my experience, stones do an excellent job of allowing bourbon to retain its flavor profile. As a tip though, chilling a drink with stones requires more cubes than if you chill it with ice because as the ice melts, the near-freezing water mixes with the bourbon, whereas with rocks you are relying solely on the diffusing of heat from the bourbon into the chilled rocks.

Overall, rocks are a superior substitute for ice if you want to retain the flavor of your bourbon when chilling it. Just keep in mind that you will need additional cubes when using whiskey rocks.

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