For those that like ice. ..

[b1gcountry]

Anything special about the ice you use? I've been experimenting with different ways to make ice. I'm curious if anyone else does anything special.

Purified water? Special trays? Directional freezing? Hacked up into tiny chunks?

[ken_mays]

I like the big ice ball on the extremely infrequent occasions I use it. It doesn't melt as fast and water down the drink.

[Flyfish]

My friend Bill has a favorite brand of extra special ice he buys. ("You can see the difference just by looking," he says.) When I add ice to bourbon, I feel that I have already gone over to the Dark Side so I don't worry about it much and just take it out of the freezer. Of course, I never add any kind of ice, Bill's or otherwise, when tasting the good stuff.

[Paddy]

Filtered and crushed are my only requirements... just enough to cover the bottom of the glass. I let it melt, and the whiskey warm back up to room temperature, before drinking.

[b1gcountry]

Filtered and crushed are my only requirements... just enough to cover the bottom of the glass. I let it melt, and the whiskey warm back up to room temperature, before drinking.

Why not just add water?

[squire]

What, and miss all the ceremonial crushing flourishes?

[Harry in WashDC]

Well, trial and error has taught me how much of whichever high proof bourbon to put in my dedicated glass so that an ice cube from the ice maker tray brings it down to about 100 proof - when I want to dilute. In other words, I hold one of the two crucial variables (bourbon and water) constant and vary the bourbon amount depending on proof. By the time I've carried to the TV room, the cube is gone.

Not ceremony but just a little anal, I'll admit. If I didn't have these smaller cubes, I'd do what Paddy does - after awhile, I'd "know" how much crushed ice to put in there consistently. When I want ice or water which isn't often.

ALSO, on really hot days, I have a different glass, a Plimsoll line whiskey glass, that I use without regard to proof; one basic ice ball then fill to the Plimsoll line on the glass with bourbon = ice plus 2 ounces of bourbon. I only use it between the Summer hours of 11AM to 4 PM. I've never had ice left to chew and usually ignore the proof although in Summer it's usually whatever is up front, mostly 86ers.

[Paddy]

What, and miss all the ceremonial crushing flourishes?

[Charlutz]

I use one large cube. When I was in Vegas, I was served a Manhattan with a perfectly clear ice ball. I can't duplicate that at home but I started making my whiskey ice cubes with bottled water. They are mostly clear and may melt a fraction slower as less air is captured in the cube as it freezes. I don't notice a taste difference.

[Enoch]

Try dry ice. Cools down quickly. Does not effect taste. And spooky smoke comes out of the drink.

[Flyfish]

Try dry ice. Cools down quickly. Does not effect taste. And spooky smoke comes out of the drink.

Halloween at your house must have been a hoot.

[b1gcountry]

I use one large cube. When I was in Vegas, I was served a Manhattan with a perfectly clear ice ball. I can't duplicate that at home but I started making my whiskey ice cubes with bottled water. They are mostly clear and may melt a fraction slower as less air is captured in the cube as it freezes. I don't notice a taste difference.

I've been working on making perfectly clear ice just to see if I can. The trick is getting it to freeze from the top down. I can get it clear but still working on how to make that happen with ice ball molds.

[Lepisto]

I hate to admit it but I remember seeing a Martha Stewart show and she said to boil the water first, even tap water. I checked online and it said the same thing, adding to boil the water twice before freezing.

[DPPSmoker]

The only time I add ice is when I am among friends with the intention of drinking more bourbon than I probably should. At that point, it doesn't matter to me how the ice is as long as it's ice.

[nd2005]

I use one large cube. When I was in Vegas, I was served a Manhattan with a perfectly clear ice ball. I can't duplicate that at home but I started making my whiskey ice cubes with bottled water. They are mostly clear and may melt a fraction slower as less air is captured in the cube as it freezes. I don't notice a taste difference.

The perfectly clear ones usually come from a $$$$ mold (like 1500 bucks or something).

There are a variety of "at home" tricks. One is to boil the water first, then cool it to lukewarm, then put it in the plastic mold. Then you put the mold into a styrofoam pack in the freezer.

IMHO more work than its worth, but there are various do it yourself guides online.

[Charlutz]

I've tried boiling the bottled water. Didn't seem to make a difference. RO or other super pure water may do it, but that's more effort than I'm willing to put in!

[tanstaafl2]

I use one large cube. When I was in Vegas, I was served a Manhattan with a perfectly clear ice ball. I can't duplicate that at home but I started making my whiskey ice cubes with bottled water. They are mostly clear and may melt a fraction slower as less air is captured in the cube as it freezes. I don't notice a taste difference.

This blog has discussed several ways to make clear (ish) ice balls and blocks if you are interested. Another link to several of his posts on the subject.

Seems like a lot of effort to me! I like using an ice ball on occasion for cocktails but am not really bothered if they aren't perfectly clear. Not that those fancy metal ice ball makers aren't kind of cool!

[Kalessin]

The new fridge (part of the overall remodeling of the kitchen, which would have driven me to strong liquor if I didn't already imbibe..) makes ice for me, which I appreciate.

However, I still have a ritual of rinsing off the ice cubes with cold water before dropping them in the glass, as our previous freezer smelled of... well, I can only describe it as freezer funk.

[Kalessin]

Try dry ice. Cools down quickly. Does not effect taste. And spooky smoke comes out of the drink.

Make sure that your dry ice is food-grade. Non-food-grade can contain benzene and other fun things...

[Golzee]

I just bought a set of Star Wars Death Star (ball) ice molds for a friend. His birthday is coming up and I thought they would go with a bottle of bourbon. The molds were only $6.50 for a set of two, so, I won't be too bummed if they only make misshaped ice balls. I have a set of regular ice ball molds that I use on occasion. Also, if you want perfectly clear ice, you have to start with distilled water and do a double boil. Not sure where I heard this, but, it works pretty well.

[Golzee]

Found a cheap set of Studio Neat ice kit molds on eBay for a fraction of what they sell for on amazon or their website.  https://www.studioneat.com/products/neaticekit

I'm going to give them a try this weekend and will report back.  I gave up on boiling water for clear ice, the results were lackluster for the time spent.

[DeepCover]

I use ice balls or large ice cubes with higher proof bourbons, and I only use distilled water.

 

When you're already using distilled water, clarity is purely aesthetic. You get clarity by freezing the ice slowly. Several techniques may be employed, but mine come out clear enough to suit my needs without having to try insulation or other methods, not that there's anything wrong with going for high clarity.

[theDon]

Sonic ice and EW white label on a hot day makes a good bourbon slushy.

[BDanner]

21 hours ago, theDon said:

Sonic ice and EW white label on a hot day makes a good bourbon slushy.

That. Sounds. Awesome.

[BDanner]

When I decided to up my ice game I bought the round molds and hated them. They would crack down the middle and took up way too much space in the glass.I have switched to a silicon tray that makes 4 large 2 1/2" cubes (similar to the one in the photo attached). I usually use bottled spring water. They usually freeze mostly clear. I tried to boiling thing but found the results spotty and not worth the extra effort. 

Edited January 28, 2017 by BDanner