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Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

alcademics.com

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Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#21

Post by tecleandor »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #17
leblancfg wrote: post #2

Former bartender here. Having nice cocktail ice chunks at home isn't as complex as this might make it seem. No need for a clunky box in your freezer or costly gizmos. I keep a travel-sized coffee thermos in my freezer with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom. Takes 18-24 hours to create one chunk. If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom – pop out the frozen chun…

Water expands when it freezes, in my head thermos is an extremely rigid structure, how do you stop it from rapturing?

I think the idea is leaving it open so it freezes from the top down. From what I've read there, the trick of clear ice is directional freezing.

I've seen some other ideas like freezing water in a camping cooler with its top open.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#22

Post by account42 »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #17
leblancfg wrote: post #2

Former bartender here. Having nice cocktail ice chunks at home isn't as complex as this might make it seem. No need for a clunky box in your freezer or costly gizmos. I keep a travel-sized coffee thermos in my freezer with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom. Takes 18-24 hours to create one chunk. If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom – pop out the frozen chun…

Water expands when it freezes, in my head thermos is an extremely rigid structure, how do you stop it from rapturing?

I'm not sure if your end of the world planning needs to include your thermos.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#23

Post by angry_moose »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #17
leblancfg wrote: post #2

Former bartender here. Having nice cocktail ice chunks at home isn't as complex as this might make it seem. No need for a clunky box in your freezer or costly gizmos. I keep a travel-sized coffee thermos in my freezer with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom. Takes 18-24 hours to create one chunk. If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom – pop out the frozen chun…

Water expands when it freezes, in my head thermos is an extremely rigid structure, how do you stop it from rapturing?

Only if its completely full. A travel thermos is ~6 inches deep and OP said to fill it to 2-3 inches.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#24

Post by schwartzworld »

ir77 wrote: post #14

is it me or pretty much all of those icecubes are infested with air bubbles? i'd think the "cocktail ice" criteria would be to be 100% clear. I make my own ice, usually in the winter, because it's fun when it's -20 outside and i stock pile it in a deep freezer for the remainder of the year. process: + fill a small cooler almost to the top with water + leave the lid open and leave the cooler outside over night, or 2 n…

Boiling water before freezing is another way of removing dissolved gases.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#25

Post by Swizec »

TrainedMonkey wrote: post #17
leblancfg wrote: post #2

Former bartender here. Having nice cocktail ice chunks at home isn't as complex as this might make it seem. No need for a clunky box in your freezer or costly gizmos. I keep a travel-sized coffee thermos in my freezer with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom. Takes 18-24 hours to create one chunk. If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom – pop out the frozen chun…

Water expands when it freezes, in my head thermos is an extremely rigid structure, how do you stop it from rapturing?

> how do you stop it from rapturing?

From the post you’re replying to: 2 to 3 inches of water at the bottom … expands to fill the thermos

Air compresses. A lot.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#26

Post by anamexis »

eutectic wrote: post #12
dabluecaboose wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom And even if you don't, worst case you end up with a cloudy end on your clear ice that can be easily removed by rubbing it on an aluminum sheet pan

I'm not sure it will be so easy to get the ice out if you let it freeze solid.

Well luckily there’s an easy solution for that as well: letting it sit for awhile.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#27

Post by shermablanca »

I’ve purchased this one[1] and it makes almost perfect cubes of ice that are very clear and melt evenly and slowly. In my cocktail glass it is so flat that the whiskey does not permeate the bottom. The result is a beautifully clear square in the center of my glass when looking at it from above.

Trick is to let the ice temper for a few minutes to acclimate to the room temperature before pouring your drink over it. Otherwise it will crack. Also good to spin it a few times in your glass to melt it a bit to get it perfectly flat.

[1] ClearlyFrozen High Capacity (10 x 2 Inch) Home Clear Ice Cube Tray/Ice Cube Maker https://a.co/d/2E7YcmC

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#28

Post by brenns10 »

schwartzworld wrote: post #24
ir77 wrote: post #14

is it me or pretty much all of those icecubes are infested with air bubbles? i'd think the "cocktail ice" criteria would be to be 100% clear. I make my own ice, usually in the winter, because it's fun when it's -20 outside and i stock pile it in a deep freezer for the remainder of the year. process: + fill a small cooler almost to the top with water + leave the lid open and leave the cooler outside over night, or 2 n…

Boiling water before freezing is another way of removing dissolved gases.

Tested on this very website!

https://www.alcademics.com/2017/10/boiled-versus-rested-wate...

Conclusion they came to (your opinion may vary) is that it's not worth the time and energy to get e.g. 1/2" more clear ice.

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#29

Post by brenns10 »

kualto wrote: post #3

I always thought the key to getting clear ice was to boil the water first so the oxygen goes out of solution.

This site has whole sections on "things that don't work" and "things that work, but not that well" based on experiments. Here's boiling water first:

https://www.alcademics.com/2017/10/boiled-versus-rested-wate...

(Works somewhat, but not well enough)

Re: Experiments in Making Cocktail Ice

#30

Post by leblancfg »

dabluecaboose wrote: post #10
leblancfg wrote: post #2

Former bartender here. Having nice cocktail ice chunks at home isn't as complex as this might make it seem. No need for a clunky box in your freezer or costly gizmos. I keep a travel-sized coffee thermos in my freezer with about 2-3 inches of water at the bottom. Takes 18-24 hours to create one chunk. If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom – pop out the frozen chun…

>If you time it right, 90% of the water freezes, and the water impurities pool at the bottom And even if you don't, worst case you end up with a cloudy end on your clear ice that can be easily removed by rubbing it on an aluminum sheet pan

Or just passing the cloudy bit under hot water. Melts like a charm.
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