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The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

priceonomics.com

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Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#91

Post by throwaway5752 »

avitous wrote: post #36
throwaway5752 wrote: post #3

If you put ice in Macallan 18, you suck. Sorry for the light epithet, but it deserves worse. and as I read more: "Gläce states that the cubes are ideal for high-end cocktails -- those that employ splashes of $38,000-per-bottle liquors, and must not be diluted or contaminated by mere tap ice." ... ICE NUMBS YOUR TASTE BUDS. Fancy water or not. edit: Downvoted to -1? I'll double down. If you are going to drink a nice s…

I'm fine with people putting ice in Macallan; it's when they want to add ice to a truly great single malt like Springbank or (good heavens) Port Ellen that I want to cringe. Some years back I went to a whisky tasting event hosted by Macallan, and their "brand ambassador" was quite nonchalantly splashing Macallans from 10-18 years old over big spherical ice balls that mostly filled the glass they were placed in.

I think the price inflation even at the mass-produced 15 year single malt is bad enough. If the picture in the article were a Port Ellen instead of the Macallan I would have been hellbanned for my response.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#92

Post by ctz »

habosa wrote: post #18

The joke is that for very nice liquor (whiskey especially) you should definitely not be adding ice, no matter how "deserving" the ice is. If you want the drink cold, chill the liquor itself or even the glass. In hindsight, fuck it. There is no point in dissecting this, it is what it is. It's ice for people who want to spend money just to spend it.

No true Scotsman drinks his whisky without a little water.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#93

Post by tjr »

DanBC wrote: post #86
pavel_lishin wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He'll use my line of high-end oxygen-producers. I can start him off with some Bambü, which produces a very nice texture, or we can skip directly to Alø, which has some very nice medicinal properties as well.

You need to tweak the phrasing to avoid regulatory scrutiny by FDA but beneficial properties of oxygen of different plants would sell. I don't know how depressed I am by this.

I have a bamboo floor in my home office, and generally like things made out of bamboo. Not even knowing the actual oxygen-producing properties of bamboo, I can imagine myself trying some bamboo oxygen. And I usually don't like seemingly overpriced stunts like this. I seriously think it could sell big. Oxygen made by your favorite plants! Amazing idea.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#94

Post by archagon »

xienze wrote: post #21
LeonM wrote: post #5

I actually thought about this when a read an article a couple of years ago about a company that sells "designer" bottles of water for $80 EACH. There are many wealthy people on the planet who don't have a clue on how to spend their money. They are a brilliant target audience to sell overpriced everyday products to.

It's not just the ultra-wealthy that fall for this crap. Consider SF's $4 toast. Cheap enough that anyone can buy it but still way overpriced.

I dunno, those toasts look pretty big. Compare to something like ice cream or latte, which retails for about the same price. (Or maybe a little less.)

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#95

Post by nathan_long »

_Adam wrote: post #48

As stupid as this sounds, there is actually a difference between these ice cubes and the standard variety. And that's the appearance. Just look: http://www.glaceice.net/uploads/3/9/6/9/3969825/3969289_orig... Because there's no air bubbles, the ice is perfectly clear. That's not a trivial fact. Humans innately like clear stuff! Just think how unappealing cloudy water is in comparison to clear water. The only exceptio…

> Someone could come in and sell a perfect ice maker for $200 and crush the pre-made high end ice market completely.

Doubtful. What customers are buying is a feeling, not a specification.

Such people would not buy an Acme watch just because it looks as good as and keeps better time than a Rolex, because the brand and its image is the product.

Surely nothing makes that more apparent than luxury ice.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#96

Post by tesseract »

pyre wrote: post #89
madengr wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gold isn't the best conductor. Silver is better, followed by copper, but they oxidize, and gold does not. It's the oxide that forms the insulator. There are both hard and soft gold platings is electronics. Hard gold is for wearing contact surfaces such as connectors and relays. Soft gold for solderable and wire bondable surfaces.

I assume that 'hard gold' is some sort of alloy, as gold itself is known for being soft (hence the idea of someone biting down on a gold coin to test if it's really gold).

I believe "bright hard gold" (as it's referred to) contains about 0.2% cobalt and/or nickel.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#97

Post by eridius »

_Adam wrote: post #48

As stupid as this sounds, there is actually a difference between these ice cubes and the standard variety. And that's the appearance. Just look: http://www.glaceice.net/uploads/3/9/6/9/3969825/3969289_orig... Because there's no air bubbles, the ice is perfectly clear. That's not a trivial fact. Humans innately like clear stuff! Just think how unappealing cloudy water is in comparison to clear water. The only exceptio…

Clear ice is nice, but you don't need to pay $8 a cube to make clear ice.

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#98

Post by spyder »

_Adam wrote: post #48

As stupid as this sounds, there is actually a difference between these ice cubes and the standard variety. And that's the appearance. Just look: http://www.glaceice.net/uploads/3/9/6/9/3969825/3969289_orig... Because there's no air bubbles, the ice is perfectly clear. That's not a trivial fact. Humans innately like clear stuff! Just think how unappealing cloudy water is in comparison to clear water. The only exceptio…

Looks like you just have to use boiled water to make clean ice: http://www.instructables.com/id/make-crystal-clear-ice!/ And bars already have a "boiling machine" (cafe machine) :)

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#99

Post by nathan_long »

Looks like I'm branding and pricing my services wrong.

"For just $50k per hour, you get painstakingly crafted, premium server code. Every character is hand-typed on a perfectly resonant keyboard, entering the world with a pleasing 'plink'..."

Re: The Rise of the $8 Ice Cube

#100

Post by opendais »

solarmist wrote: post #11
opendais wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe I should start selling Läce Oxygen, the better breathing experience certified to be fresh as it was extracted directly from a sealed room filled with plants. Don't breathe secondhand air from the mouths of peasants! Get Läce Oxygen! :/ EDIT: I was kidding, folks. ^^;

Ha! Bundle that with a fan that "mists" the pure air and you've got yourself a product! I know you were kidding, but that doesn't mean you couldn't make a lot of money with that idea. Ridiculous products can make tons of money.

I think I'll try to stick with trying to come up with a SaaS product :P
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