In the July edition of One for the Road, we asked industry experts to weigh in on ice in cocktails.
Why does ice in a cocktail matter?
Patty Dennison, Head Bartender, Grand Army Bar, Brooklyn, New York
Ice matters so much, in so many different ways. First, when actually making the cocktail, the ice is going to affect the rate of dilution and aeration if you are shaking it. With this, we crack a couple cubes when making a stirred up drink like a martini or Manhattan to increase the speed of dilution. As far as presentation ice goes, this affects the rate of dilution in the glass as well as retaining carbonation in a highball. We want the drink to remain cold without over-diluting immediately, so using the large blocks from Hundredweight Big Ice is very helpful for us. Additionally, using a spear in a highball helps the drink retain carbonation. The ice has a smoother surface and less imperfections, which allows for the highball to retain as much Co2 as it can, which is always the goal.
Bruce Polack, Beverage Director, The Regular, Denver, Colorado
The main reason for choosing a specific kind of ice in a cocktail is the dilution rate. This dilution rate will affect how your guest consumes the cocktail, not only with their eyes but also with their mouth. Crushed ice is visually appealing, especially in a Collins glass with vibrant colors and eye-catching garnishes. Remember that crushed ice will dilute your drink very quickly, and if you are making a cocktail meant to be savored over time, it will water down those flavors. Large, clear rocks glass cubes have a much slower dilution rate. These cubes are a statement to add to any cocktail, and with certain bartending techniques, you can make a cocktail that can give a guest a true optical illusion experience. But, be careful in choosing your glassware with this type of cocktail ice, for it will limit your options because of the size and depth of the cubes. So, all in all, does the ice in a cocktail matter? Yes! In what way does it matter the most? Well, that is up to the person who is crafting the drink.
Karl Goranowski, Beverage Director, BATA, Tucson, Arizona
Ice matters for several reasons for cocktails. The key (and forgotten) ingredient in cocktails is water; in most cases, the ice we add to cocktails before we mix them (in basically any method) provides that water. If the ice is low quality or doesn't have good filtration, the cocktail can be ruined right from the start. Speaking of the dilution in cocktails from mixing, a lot of the ice made by home or commercial ice machines (think the 1/2 moons you get at fast food [establisments]) have a ton of surface area so they melt faster/ are warming, meaning they melt much more quickly when making cocktails, which can leave your cocktail with too much water. Some types of ice are key to making the service of a cocktail right. Having a tropical-style drink without crushed ice seems wrong on most levels. In most modern contexts, having an old-fashioned without a huge clear ice cube (which will melt more slowly, meaning the drink stays closer to perfect longer) also seems amiss.
Trevor Langer, Beverage Director, Porchlight, New York, NY
Ice to me is the first snap judgment I make when going to a bar for the first time in the way of quality expectation. Now have I been both pleasantly surprised by bars with a subpar ice program and disappointed by bars that have incredible ones? Sure. However, ice plays such a vital role in the lifespan of a cocktail, and thoughtfulness in which ice you use is of the utmost importance. For example: ice choices based on aesthetic is one of the big no-nos; just because you want to make a drink look pretty on crushed/pebble ice, doesn't mean it has the appropriate body and build to dilute properly overtime.
Making conscious decisions on which ice to use for a cocktail that will taste and give it the lifespan you'd like it to is one of the, in my opinion, core tenets of drink making.
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