Prodigal_SOB wrote: 
Talk about your nerd sniping: Thin walls? So you'd handle this with gloves then?

 haresfur wrote: 
 How much you can bring the temperature down is mostly about the total heat the cold substance can take out of the warmer whisky before thermal equilibrium is reached.  I suspect that any heat loss through evaporation is negligible and the difference made by diluting even less.  The real determining factors are the mass and specific heat of the cold stuff plus in the case of the ice the latent heat of fusion.  I am still trying to avoid actually looking up numbers and doing calculations but the liquid nitrogen was a bit of an over statement.  As Scott said over the range from the ice box to equilibrium temperature heat of fusion is going to be the dominant factor.  Even without it though there aren't many things with a higher specific heat water either.  I should really have been thinking about specific heat times density to get the heat for equal volumes of ice and stone as opposed to equal mass though.  I would guess water still has the edge but they're on the same order of magnitude.  Without looking it up I would guess Scott's stone or some specialized glass or ceramic would be a better choice of material than miami's stainless steel. Not knowing for sure is what may eventually drive me to looking up the actual numbers. Back when I was in college and had a Swede for a roommate we always had a bottle of aquavit in the freezer and generally a few shot glasses as well just to keep that much colder.  I'm kind of a cube man myself but I would think a small glass with thin walls and a thick bottom might be just as good a thing for the purist to keep in the freezer as anything else.  
 
 Nerd Sniping

 Prodigal_SOB wrote: 
You need to consult the chemists too - the delta-H of mixing melted ice into the alcohol also contributes to the cooling.  Another reason to use high proof booze. But, yeah, I like the way the taste evolves in the glass as ice melts.

 storing your "stones" in liquid nitrogen sounds like a Chuck Norris joke

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
I certainly wasn't going to actully look anything up or get out a calculator but that is the number I was using and I have a lot more confidence in it than the  -200 C I pulled out of the air for the liquid nitrogen 

 Prodigal_SOB wrote: 
I have zero doubt whatsoever that your experience in this area is conclusive.

 
I was going to get more physicsy but can't remember is it 80 calories* per gram going from ice to water? That's a lot of oomph for a few chips of ice.

*I know it's real calories not the food kcal but still 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
I think you will find pretty much universal agreement among physicists on this point as well.  IME if you were storing your "stones" in liquid nitrogen until you need them they still might not chill it as much. 

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
the bolded is me too

 miamizsun wrote: 
Of course purists don't want the chill because that deadens the taste buds somewhat...

I got some of those "whiskey stones" that are in the freezer right now, but... I usually like the slight dilution an ice cube gives me, plus the chill... the melting takes out more heat than simply warming the stones... that is, a little ice chills better than a lot of rock. IME. 

 islander wrote: 
that's funny

some folks enjoy bourbon or scotch at room temp or with an ice cube

for the purist that wants to chill, try stainless steel "ice" cubes

 

 ScottN wrote: 
The more exotic, the more "scotchy" they seem to become. I had some higher-end Pappy at Christmas and it's remarkably not much at all like your standard bourbon. Still bourbon, but with so much more going on. 

Our last two bourbons have been Trader Joe's... at $15 it's a great mixer but it's also fine neat. Not complex but very reminiscent of Woodford, altho I think it's probably closer to Buffalo Trace, but I've only had that once or twice... 
edit: No selfie-control

 ScottN wrote: 
I'm partial to Russell's Reserve but really the only thing drinkable and affordable here is Wild Turkey (affordable being relative - it's still $40). I usually make an Old Fashioned (a real one - not one of those Wisconsin things) or a Sazarac.

 islander wrote: 
That's how I do my favorite—Woodford Reserve.  Sometimes I'll add a mini-cube or two.  I've come to bourbon recently and really have come to appreciate some.  But I have found many highly regarded bourbons to baffle me as to their appeal.   Mostly, I am a red wine guy.

 islander wrote: 
That would be great, except for that whole not being able to find it thing.

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
It's really good, get it with a slight chill and enjoy it neat.

 islander wrote: 
P's brother recommended that to us but we haven't been able to find it down here in the bible belt.

 ScottN wrote:
 
That one was the Jefferson's Presidential select - very good stuff, I'd highly recommend it.   I also had some Angel's Envy this weekend. It was okay, but a little light and not up the the reviews I've seen. 

 islander wrote:
   What bourbon was it?

Next to me at the bar last night:

"That girl's picture is everywhere, she has no selfie control"

I almost spit bourbon.