It’s a question as old as the first dram poured over rocks: should you drink your whiskey with ice—or leave it neat?

The short answer? It depends. The longer answer is that your choice of ice (or none at all) can dramatically affect the way whiskey smells, tastes, and finishes. The whiskey world doesn’t operate on hard rules, but understanding the impact of temperature and dilution can help you sip with more intention.

Drinking whiskey neat—served at room temperature without water or ice—is the preferred method for many purists. Neat pours allow you to experience the whiskey’s full aroma and structure without dilution. This is especially useful when tasting higher-end or older whiskeys, where subtle notes of oak, dried fruit, or spice might be masked by cold temperature or water.

That said, neat whiskey can sometimes feel too intense—especially with cask strength expressions or spicy ryes. This is where water or ice can help.

Adding just a few drops of water can “open up” a whiskey by unlocking aromatic compounds. Some distillers even recommend this practice. For example, the folks at Glenmorangie and Laphroaig have long promoted experimenting with water to explore the full flavor spectrum.

Then there’s ice—and not all ice is equal. Standard freezer cubes are accessible but melt quickly, diluting whiskey faster than you might like. Oversized cubes and spheres, by contrast, melt more slowly due to reduced surface area. That means your whiskey stays cold longer while preserving its character for a bit longer.

Spheres tend to look sleek in the glass and offer slower dilution, making them ideal for sipping bourbon or Scotch on warmer nights. Oversized cubes serve the same purpose, though they’re slightly more prone to cracking and melting unevenly if the whiskey is too warm.

If you enjoy a colder pour but still want control over flavor, consider silicone ice molds that let you prep large-format cubes or spheres at home. Companies like Tovolo make bartender-grade molds that are affordable and easy to use.

You might even come across whiskey stones—chilled soapstone or stainless steel cubes. While they cool your drink without dilution, they tend to mute aroma and offer inconsistent chill, which is why many whiskey lovers leave them in the drawer.