Ice for Cocktails: Types, Size and Clear Ice

You cannot chill a drink with ice without diluting it. As the ice melts it takes heat from the drink, and the meltwater ends up in the glass. That is not a flaw but part of the recipe: in a shaken or stirred cocktail the meltwater often makes up around a fifth to a quarter of the finished drink, and that dilution is what makes strong ingredients taste balanced rather than hot.

So do not skimp on ice. Fill the shaker or mixing glass properly. A little ice melts faster and gives a drink that is both warmer and more watery, while plenty of ice chills quickly and gives the right dilution.

Ordinary freezer cubes, about 2 to 3 centimetres, are the workhorse. They are used for shaking and stirring, and for highballs such as a gin and tonic where the glass is filled with ice.

Take the ice straight from the freezer. Ice that has been sitting out and turned glossy and wet brings extra water into the drink. Shake or stir until the shaker or glass is properly cold on the outside, then always strain off the used ice. It is broken up and melts fast in the glass.

A large cube, around 5 centimetres, has far less surface area relative to its volume than several small ones. It melts more slowly and keeps the drink cold without diluting it as fast. That suits drinks sipped slowly in a rocks glass, such as an Old Fashioned, a Negroni or whisky on the rocks.

Silicone moulds for large cubes are sold in most kitchen shops and are the easiest upgrade for a home bar.

Crushed ice melts fast and dilutes a lot, and that is the point. Drinks like the Mint Julep, Mojito, swizzles and many tiki drinks are built to be ice cold and to dilute as they are drunk.

Without an ice crusher, put cubes in a clean tea towel or a canvas bag and hit them with a rolling pin or the back of a saucepan. The fabric soaks up some of the meltwater, so the ice comes out drier.

Cloudy ice is mainly caused by water freezing from every side at once. Air bubbles and dissolved minerals are pushed inward and trapped in the middle. Boiling the water first helps less than many people think.

The fix is called directional freezing. Fill a small cooler, with the lid off, with water and put it in the freezer. The insulated sides and bottom make the water freeze from the top down, and the impurities collect in the part that freezes last at the bottom. Take the block out after about a day, before it has frozen through, let it sit for a few minutes and cut or tap away the cloudy part. You are left with a clear block to saw or tap into cubes with a bread knife.

Ice picks up odours from the freezer easily. Keep finished ice in a sealed bag or box and make fresh ice regularly rather than using cubes that have sat for months. Use filtered water if your tap water tastes strongly of chlorine.