When it comes to making top-notch cocktails at home, it's likely you've forgotten about one key ingredient—ice. The shape and size of your ice have a direct impact on the dilution of your cocktails, as well as effervescence, temperature and other important factors. Certain types of ice are essential for particular cocktails, so we're breaking down the ice essentials you need to know so that your next cocktail creation will be a masterpiece.
Ice Quality
In addition to affecting the temperature and dilution of your drink, ice absorbs the flavor of anything it's exposed to in your freezer. So those cubes that have been sitting around, uncovered, for who knows how long? They're definitely giving your drink a funky taste.
Our main motivation in developing the Peak Ice Works line of ice trays was to help home bartenders make great ice at home, bringing you that much closer to recreating cocktails made by the pros.
The Peak Ice Works Line:
- Everyday Ice: Everyday ice is 1 1/4 inch cubes that are used for shaking and mixing cocktails, as well as in cocktails like Highballs and Shandies.
- Extra Large Ice: Extra large ice cubes are perfect for strong cocktails like the Old Fashioned or the Negroni, as their slow melting process keeps things cold without diluting your drink.
- Crushed Ice: Crushed ice is essential for cocktails that require maximum dilution, such as Mint Juleps or Moscow Mules.
- Sphere Ice: Sphere ice functions the same way as extra large ice cubes, but it has even less surface area (see: slower melting) and looks that much cooler in the glass.
- Clear Ice: Clear ice is the real showstopper of ice styles. Our insulated mold allows for top-down freezing that pushes out any bubbles and impurities, resulting in a perfectly clear extra large ice cube.
