On the rocks or not has always been a pertinent question when it comes to drinks, but often, many ignore the actual ‘rocks’ in question. The way ice melts and gives various characters to each stage of the drink makes a big difference to the flavours in it. Since ice is used in every single co*cktail, it is important to have fresh, clear ice, whether you’re in a bar or at home.
If you’re making your own drinks at home, here’s everything you need to know about ice in a co*cktail:
First things first: when it comes to ice, the clearer the better. Perfectly clear ice has become the talk of the town because it not only looks great but vastly enhances the quality of your drink. Here are the reasons why clear ice cubes are totally superior to cloudy, home freezer ice:
It kills the extra fizz
Water freezes around air bubbles, which leads to cloudy ice cubes. This means that the cubes coming out of your freezer hold extra oxygen. When a carbonated drink hits the ice, it reacts with the gases in the soda and causes an explosion of extra fizz. If you’ve ever been irritated by having to wait for the fizz to die down, only to discover your glass was less than half full, cloudy ice is the culprit.
It melts slowly
All that trapped air causes white ice to melt faster than clear ice. A perfectly solid cube packed with only water molecules can maintain its low temperature longer, unlike cloudy ice, which reaches room temperatures faster. Slower melting ice means you get to enjoy a cold drink for longer, without worrying about it getting watered down before you finish it.
Clear ice is purer
Because a clear ice cube is water without the extra air, it doesn’t pick up any “off” flavours from your home freezer the way that cloudy ice does. That’s a big bonus for fans of mixed drinks — or anyone who just wants their cold one to taste exactly as it should.
The art of making the perfect ice at home
It is integral to understand that normal ice cubes are frozen from all sides which causes uneven freezing and traps air and particles in the centre of the cube. Therefore, the directional freezing method is the simplest way to make crystal clear ice by controlling the direction that water freezes. Here is how you can do that :
