One local tavern here has pure clean ice for the bourbon. One cube per rock glass. 2"x2"x2" perfectly clear ice. Works well and melts very slow. Cools the wiskey down but does not dilute much.
And that's exactly backwards.
If the spirit is a bit "hot" for the palate, it should be diluted slightly with still spring water that is not chilled.
Cooling the whiskey inhibits evaporation that would provide the "nose", and it also anesthetizes the taste buds.
it only matters with good whiskey anyway
