Cocktailia

A few months ago, Imbibe Magazine ran a feature story about something that few people think about: Ice. Titled Rocking Out, it went in-depth on the subject, talking to bartenders about the ice they use and explaining why ice is so important when mixing drinks.

Unless your drink calls for crushed ice, such as mint julep, the general rule of thumb is the larger the ice cubes, the better. Large ice cubes keep your drinks colder longer, and melt slower, resulting in less dilution. The author speaks to Chad Soloman of Liquid Relations who says that between the time they’re mixed and the time they’re finished, drinks served on the rocks are “… going to be a totally different drink based on the size and density of the ice”. The argument being that a drink served with larger cubes, or a single large piece of ice, will dilute slower, preserving the quality of the drink for a longer period.

So with that in mind, some bartenders are moving away from standard restaurant ice cubes — you know the ones: small with a concave indentation on one end. The idea here is that the greater surface area on the cube will chill the drink more quickly, but it also results in a thin ice cube that melts within minutes. Available at the other end of the ice cube scale are Kold Draft cubes — Perfect, solid 1¼ x 1¼ cubes. According to their marketing literature, their machines produce colder ice with fewer impurities. I can’t test this claim but I do know that these cubes are much nicer than their more common counterparts.

Moving away from cubed ice, we enter the realm of larger pieces, such as spears of ice long enough to fill the height of a highball glass, or irregularly-shaped pieces hand-carved off large blocks. Less practical than cubes, these make for impressive looking drinks.

Those of us following along at home have fewer options at our disposal, but Kold Draft-sized cubes, at least, are easy to make. I’m using the Tovolo Perfect Cube silicon ice cube trays, which produce cubes identical in size to Kold Draft cubes. Not as cold, perhaps, but still a step up from those ice cube trays that came with your refrigerator. I don’t know that they’re keeping my drinks any colder but they definitely melt slower. It’s nice to finish a gin and tonic without the last few sips tasting like slightly flavored water.

You can see them in action in this Classic Mai Tai:

The silicon trays lend themselves well to customization too. Using sharp scissors, you can trim the mold to produce larger pieces. Either cut across the width of the tray for rectangular pieces the size of three cubes, or down the length for large, 6 inch spears. I haven’t modified mine yet but plan to once summer rolls around and I start using my collins glasses more.

Other options for interesting ice at home include freezing water in a loaf pan and breaking off irregular chunks with an ice pick, or using this ice mold from MoMA which makes solid 2 inch spheres. Something to keep in mind when making these is that the larger the ice, the longer it will take to freeze, so be sure to plan ahead.

Here are a couple more pictures of the Tovolo trays in action: