If you’re a cocktail fanatic like I am, you know that every ingredient counts. Most people understand that if you buy cheap booze or use a cheap mixer, the final product won’t taste good. But very few people give thought to the ice.
Bad ice makes a great drink taste bad. Plain and simple.
So the first step in making great ice is using clean water. Most tapwater does not fit the bill. Filtered water, even from your refrigerator, is a much better choice. And if you don’t have a filter at home, then buying bottled water is the best way to go. (You don’t need to buy distilled water.)
Of course, you can just go out and buy a bag of ice, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, we’re talking about making really nice big beautiful ice cubes here.…the kind that transforms your average cocktail into a beautiful work of art, reflecting the surrounding light.
You probably have all the ingredients you need to make a great ice…
A small, clean cooler with a removable top
A serrated knife
A hammer
About a gallon-and-half of clean water
Make sure your cooler is really clean. Pour the gallon of ice water into it. Place it, with the lid off, in a freezer for 24 hours. (It’s probably a good idea to measure the cooler and measure your freezer space so you actually have the room to do this!)
After 24 hours, remove the cooler from the freezer and flip it over onto a clean cutting board that you have placed in or above your sink.
Gravity will start doing the work as the ice slowly slips out of the cooler and lands on the cutting board with a loud clunk!
There will be a bunch of unfrozen water that comes pouring out, so make sure you’ve got it positioned over the sink properly or you’ll be cleaning up a mess later on!
You now have a rectangular piece of ice that’s about an inch-and-a-half to 2 inches thick. Wipe off the shards of ice on the top of it, and using the serrated knife, carefully start sawing the ice gently to make a line. It doesn’t have to be deep.
Holding the serrated knife down on that line, get the hammer and tap the top of the knife gently. The ice will break at the line, like you’re cutting a diamond. Now take the newly cut piece of ice, turn it, and saw it with the knife again, this time to make your cubes.
You will see that in no time, you’ve got yourself a nice amount of ice cubes. Place them in a plastic bag and back in the freezer to use whenever you have your next cocktail.
The great thing about these cubes is that they have a rustic look to them, which I find attractive. It’s as if you went out to a frozen lake and cut them yourself.
You can make a lot of ice this way in a very short period of time if you have guests coming over in a few days. Sure, the store-bought bag of ice might still be something you need for the cocktail shaker or frozen margaritas. But when you’re having a drink on the rocks, nothing beats a big gorgeous cube in the middle of it!
Live the Live ™ 