Mastering Ice for the Home Bar
The quality of your ice is as important as the quality of your spirit. If you aren't thinking about temperature and surface area, you are losing control of the final balance of your glass.
Clarity is a function of temperature and direction.
Clear ice requires a directional freeze to push impurities and trapped air to the bottom of the vessel. Use a cooler rather than a standard tray for the best results.
- small insulated cooler
- heavy-duty serrated bread knife
- mallet
- silicone square molds
What goes in.
- 2 gallonsfiltered water, room temperature
Control the Freeze
By placing an open cooler in the freezer, you force the water to freeze from the top down. The impurities are pushed into the unfrozen water at the bottom, leaving the top layer crystal clear.
The method.
Prepare the vessel
Fill a small insulated cooler with filtered water, leaving about two inches of space at the top. Place it uncovered into the freezer.
Wait for the freeze
Let the water freeze for 20 to 24 hours. You want the block solid, but not frozen through to the very bottom, where the impurities are trapped.
Harvest the ice
Remove the block from the cooler. The cloudy ice will be at the bottom; slice this off with the serrated knife and discard it.
Cut to size
Score the clear block with the knife where you want your cubes, then use the mallet to tap the knife handle to split the block cleanly.
Other turns to take.
The Highball Spear
Cut the clear ice into long, rectangular prisms that fit the height of a Collins glass, ensuring the drink stays cold without clinking against the glass too often.
Standard Cubes
Use flexible silicone molds for smaller, uniform cubes used specifically for cocktails that require aggressive dilution, like a Daiquiri.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Always temper your ice for five minutes on the counter before dropping it into a drink; it prevents the ice from cracking when it hits the liquid.
Store finished clear cubes in a freezer bag once they are frozen to prevent them from picking up odors from the freezer.
If your ice comes out cloudy despite the cooler method, your water source may have high mineral content; switch to distilled water.
The ones that keep coming up.
Does the temperature of the freezer matter?
Keep it as close to zero degrees Fahrenheit as possible. If it is too cold, the ice freezes too fast and traps air bubbles.
Why do I need a serrated knife?
A standard chef's knife will slip. The serrations bite into the ice, allowing you to score a deep line before applying force to split it.
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