15 Hacks to Take Your Ice Game to the Next Level

Hi, Friends of Cocktails! Today we're talking all things ice, with hacks and even some experiments to elevate your cocktail game. So you’ll be able to show this post to anyone that thinks a lot of ice in your glass means the bartender is trying to give you less of the cocktail, or to your bartender friends who want to make cocktails like they do at the best bars in the world.

First of all, ice is there to keep your drink at the right temperature for longer. Cocktails are measured and made for balance, not to rip you off, so no need to worry about that. Also, you may remember that  we’ve covered some general cocktail hacks in the past, and I showed you how to make clear ice, even in a small freezer.

Of course there are situations where having clear ice is not possible, as we’ll see later, or it might not be important to you. That’s fine, what matters most is that you enjoy the cocktail in your hand. I just think it’s easier if it looks great too, but let’s start by saying that clear ice isn't just about aesthetics. It’s also about purity. So if all other ingredients are carefully made, I think it’s worth using clear ice as well. 

So our first hack will answer the question: does a big ice cube keep your drink colder for longer? I’ll make a double batch of an Old Fashioned and pour it into two glasses, one with a large ice cube, and the other one just a couple of regular cubes. Both Old Fashioneds started at -19°C, and once they got poured over the tempered ice cubes the large cube actually made the temperature go up to -7.5°C and the smaller cubes just up to -9°C.

Now, after 30 minutes however, the large ice block still keeps this below 0, at -0.6 °C, and the smaller ice cubes let this Old Fashioned go up to 2.9 °C. So there you have it, big Ice is your friend, just don’t let an Old Fashioned sit out for 30 minutes! But this leads me to my next hack: Stir your cocktails with a thermometer.

You can use a digital thermometer to serve your cocktails at a consistently perfect temperature. Try it first, to see what temperature is the sweet spot, but according to Dave Arnold in Liquid Intelligence, ice-chilled cocktails get as cold as -6°C or 21°F, or even lower. OK, back to ice for cocktails, use clear ice molds for the easiest way to make clear ice for your cocktails. 

Use ice molds to make any shape of clear ice. They already have the insulation and different shapes taken care of, with the holes to allow air bubbles and impurities to be pushed to the bottom as we get directional freezing, which is key to making clear ice.  Using these is literally as easy as pouring in water and placing it in the freezer. 

You just have to make sure to time your ice right, so ideally it doesn’t freeze all the way through, which can break your molds. Either way, once you’re familiar with your molds you’ll be able to use them to create spears and spheres, but in my experience I haven’t found any cubes that would be the right size, so I’ll show you how to make those later on.

Next up, something that can help you with achieving clearer results of ice is to use hot water when making clear ice, as it has less trapped gases than cold water. This one might be controversial, but as mentioned in Dave Arnold’s Liquid Intelligence, freezing cold water will give you more air bubbles from trapped gasses.

You’ll still need directional freezing, but start with hot water, which you then let cool to room temperature before freezing, so you don't damage other items in your freezer. Oh, and if you’re using this hack to make round ice, but don’t want to buy the molds there is an easier way: use water balloons to make the easiest ice balls for your cocktails.  

This one is easy to explain–fill the balloons with water, tie them off, and instead of throwing them, freeze them. The ice won't be completely clear, but it will be round...ish. After it’s frozen, just cut off the balloon and once it’s tempered, rinse it a bit to smooth out any uneven parts. Store in the freezer until you’re ready to use, and of course a disclaimer: be careful not to get any balloon pieces into your drink!

Now what about smaller ice? That has its place as well. Make blended drinks with pebble or crushed ice. I like to use a mold for my pebble ice instead of using an ice machine when I’m at home, and it freezes fast so you can make it in advance and store it in a bag for whenever you want to make a big batch of blended cocktails. 

Blended cocktails with pebble ice have a nicer texture and better consistency than if you use larger ice cubes for blending. And with enough ice and a high-speed blender, you can even make a quick ice cream, like our banana ice cream from the 10 Banana Cocktails post. This also works with other fruits and is a great base for a sgroppino cocktail.

And speaking of crushed ice, make it using the ice leftovers from making clear ice. That bottom part of the ice that was left is usually full of air bubbles and breaks down easily. This way, you don’t have to use up your nice looking clear ice to make crushed ice, but what about when you want to make your ice extra pretty? 

Add decorations like edible flowers or herbs to your ice. For this just fill the mold three quarters way up with water, add the decorations of choice, and freeze. This will keep the decorations centered.  Otherwise, they'll float to the top, sticking out from the ice. Once frozen, fill the rest of the mold and freeze again. 

This might wow some guests, but it’s not really my style, and it won’t produce clear ice. Instead if you’ll use a clear ice mold you’ll need to use something that won’t float, like I did with chilli strings. So we’ve added the looks, but what about flavor? 

Use fruit juices, tea, or coffee to make flavored ice. We talked about how important this can be for mocktails, where regular ice dilutes the flavor even more. Using flavored ice from fruit juices, tea, or coffee can slowly add additional notes to your drink as it melts, changing the drinking experience. 

Just be aware that if you use something like chamomile tea to make crushed ice it’ll… kinda look like yellow snow. There is another, more subtle way of adding flavor to your ice, and we covered it in the DIY Malibu post, and is to add flavor and decoration by dipping your ice into flavored fat, like coconut oil, cacao butter, or even chocolate.

You’ll need to melt your chosen ingredient and dip the ice into it right after you take it out of the freezer. Then put it back in the freezer to solidify. This works well for spirit-forward cocktails, but feel free to experiment, and also feel free to repeat the coating as many times as it’s needed for a stronger flavor–also, a chocolate ice garnish on a Rum Old Fashioned? Yes, please!

OK, before I show you probably the cheapest and easiest way to make DIY Clear Ice at home, let’s first tackle a myth everyone’s heard. Use a mixture of ice, water and salt to quickly chill your drinks. This can come in handy if you need to quickly chill batched cocktails, but also if you have friends coming over for a beer without notice–so let’s test it out. 

Let’s grab two beers at room temperature and place one in the freezer, and one in a container with salt, ice and water. We’ll leave both to sit for 15 minutes to do their job. Afterwards the temperature of the freezer beer is 12°C or 53°F and the salty ice water chilled it down to 5,5 °C or 42 °F, so yeah, it works. Now, is there an even easier way to make DIY clear ice than what we showed back in 2022? Of course.

Use bubble wrap and aluminium foil to make the easiest cooler for making clear ice. Take bubble wrap, which you probably get in every package you order online, and wrap it around a plastic container that fits in your freezer. One or two layers thick, if you can. Use duct tape to keep it in place, then wrap it with aluminum foil. 

The bubble wrap provides insulation, while the aluminum foil reflects temperature, aiding in directional freezing.Secure everything with tape and it’s ready to be filled with hot water and use it just like we showed before - place it in the freezer once it’s cooled and try to take it out before it freezes all the way through. Remove the bottom part and you have a chunk of clear ice!

So if it’s this easy to make it at home, why would you buy big, clunky ice machines? This isn’t a tip really, it’s more to say: exactly! Tabletop ice makers don’t really make quality ice, they use up a lot of energy, water, and counter space. And the ice makers that do make quality ice, and have a large capacity, are very expensive and take up a lot of space. So here’s a tip from the Cocktail Time crew: buy ice at your local cocktail bar.

We’ve been buying clear ice for  a lot of Cocktail Time episodes for years now, storing it in the freezer for whenever we’re filming. It’s better to invest in something like a large freezer than a tabletop ice machine. Oh and don’t forget to also enjoy a cocktail at that bar every now and then. 

And what’s the best way to cut ice, especially if you made a large block of clear ice? Use a small chain saw to cut apart large blocks of ice. A battery-powered mini chainsaw is usually used for cutting small branches, but it cuts ice too.  The ice can be completely frozen–no need to temper it first.

Just cut the ice into uniform blocks, then refine them with a chisel. The advantage here is speed and even cuts, which reduces the time you spend shaping the ice. Just remember to always wear eye and hand protection and be careful not to cut through your cutting board. When finished, always disassemble and thoroughly dry the chainsaw afterward - just make sure to unplug it and remove the battery first, of course. 

Not relying just on ice molds also gives you another benefit: when you make and carve your own ice you can shape it for different glassware. Ice that’s too small for the glass doesn’t really do justice to a well made cocktail. But when you carve your own ice you can shape it for all the different glasses you’ve collected over the years… we all do that, right

Once you have your beautiful ice ready you don’t want it to crack right when you pour your cocktail over it, so use a blow torch to quickly temper your ice. We showed this in the cocktail hacks post, which is full of great tips and tricks to elevate your cocktail game. Check that out right after enjoying the Old Fashioneds we made at the start, and I’ll see you next week. So stay cool until then, cheers! check on our two Old Fashioneds.