Cocktail ice is something that ethanol aficionados can get very, very fancy with. However, unless you’re a nugget ice enthusiast, you really only need one cube for your home bar: a really big one.
Photo by Claire Lower
As Daniel Casto of Double Dragon explained to me, you can do pretty much anything with a big ol’ cube. “You can shake with it, stir with it, serve drinks on it and, if you need smaller pieces, just whack it into smaller pieces.” They also look pretty cool.
They’re super easy to make. Just get yourself a silicone ice cube tray and get to making ice. Once you have big, cubes of frozen water, you’re ready to start making drinks. To chill and dilute beverages, just plunk a single cube into a cocktail shaker or stirring glass, and shake or stir until you reach your desired temperature and level of dilution.
If you can’t be bothered with all of that extra agitation, you can also build simpler beverages straight in the glass, around the cube, and give everything a little stir in situ. If you really can’t be arsed to put in any effort, just pour some whiskey or mezcal or whatever your poison of choice is in a lowball with one of your giant cubes. Your drink will be nicely chilled, and you’ll feel very classy.
Comments
2 responses to “Why Giant Ice Cubes Are The Only Cubes Your Home Bar Needs”
Ugh! No, just no. Unless you like your drinks heavily diluted or you down it before it melts to much.
It’s better than normal ice cubes. Less surface area per weight of ice means less water in your drink.