Ice size matters when it comes to tasty cocktails

When it comes to the size of the ice, it really matters. The size, density and clarity of ice are the intangible part of any good cocktail recipe. The shape and size can impart the proper dilution and chill that makes a cocktail taste better than one made from the same recipe but with less ice. Large cubes, especially ice spheres brought on by the revival of classic cocktails, are all the rage at high-end cocktail bars. So the simple question is why not take your home cocktail experience to the next level.

Large cubes or spheres of ice will melt more slowly than traditional ice. This is great news for cocktail enthusiasts who not only want to show off the perfect combination of flavors, but also want to present their creation with elegance. If you are a scotch drinker and enjoy your whiskey on ice, the last thing you want to do is use small ice that will turn over 20 years of barrel aging into diluted icy slush.

So how can the home cocktail enthusiast duplicate the experience of high-end cocktail establishments? So unless you can afford an $ 8,000 ice machine that pumps chilled water through the entire freezing process, creating gorgeous 300-pound slabs of crystal clear ice, your options may be limited. Once you harvest your 300 pound block, you can carve and shape it for your desired use and application.

Another option is to use an ice press that is priced from $ 400 to $ 2000 that presses square blocks of ice ranging in size from 1 inch to 2.75 inches into perfect spheres. These presses come with silicone trays that make the large square ice blocks that you will place in the press form into beautiful spheres. Watching a bar connoisseur shape a large block into a sphere and watching a press in action will definitely score big on style points. The only caveat about the silicone tray used with the press is that, unlike the ice machine, the raw ice you are starting with will never be crystal clear.

The reason for physics is that the ice formed in a tray will always freeze from the outside thus trapping the impurities in the water and air in the center of the cube, that is why the cubes always have cloudy centers with ridges and cracks. Now there are some tricks that can be used to control the direction of freezing that will allow you to start with crystalline ice, but we’ll get to that in another time. You will also hear people talk about double boiling or using distilled water for clear ice, trust me don’t waste your time. Why? Because unless you can control the direction of freezing, it won’t matter how physics is. But the purer the water, the better the final product will taste.

If you are on a budget, there are different ice pans that can be used to give your home bar some class and style. These molds are made of plastic or silicone or a combination of the two. I think we all have experience with the plastic type tray and we all know how difficult it can be to extract the ice. Silicone, on the other hand, remains malleable even once frozen, so releasing the ice from the mold is much simpler. There are several brands that make large cubes or square spheres. Tovolo’s tray makes 2-inch cubes, Rox makes four 2-inch balls, and the Whiskey Rounders silicone ice mold makes six 2 1/2-inch spheres at a time.

Although silicone molds are not the same style as an Ice Carver or press, they offer versatility and ease of use. Since they are made from silicone and are generally dishwasher safe, you can make more than just ice in them. Many people freeze juice, coffee, tea, wine, or create fruit garnishes that infuse their favorite beverages with flavor. There is no limit to what you can create with these great silicone molds. The only problem you will encounter is making enough to entertain your friends. So for what it would cost a couple of rounds of drinks at your favorite watering hole, you can bring a new level of sophistication and class to your home bar with these versatile yet inexpensive ice molds.