Welcome!
If you are here, you've discovered the experience that is clear cocktail ice! Maybe you had some in a cocktail bar, or at a friends house, or saw something about it on Kickstarter... If you are like me, the moment you saw a large format clear ice cube in your glass, you thought, "I need to have this at my house! I need to have this for my parties!" So here you are!
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Why use clear ice?
The reasons for using large format clear ice are simple.
- The clarity of the ice means no impurities that will skew the taste of the spirit or cocktail.
- The size of the ice means less surface area in your drink, causing it to dilute the drink slower.
- The clarity offers an opportunity for hand carving facets providing a higher aesthetic to the beverage, elevating the experience.
Why is clear ice clear?
Clear ice becomes clear due to how ice freezes. By controlling the freezing process, you can make clear ice out of any type or quality of water.
The cloudiness in ice is caused by air bubbles that get trapped in the ice as it freezes. When you make "normal" ice using a cube tray in your freezer, the ice tends to freeze from the outside in. As the water freezes, the air bubbles get pushed towards the center where they finally freeze together into a cloud. .
To make clear ice, you can control this crystal formation process through "directional freezing". If you insulate all sizes of the ice, and force it to freeze from the top down, you can push the air bubbles down, keeping the top layer of ice crystal clear. This is how most at-home clear ice rigs work.
Here is an amazing animation of directional freezing in action: https://www.studioneat.com/blogs/main/18098872-how-to-make-clear-ice
Bulk clear ice is produced using a machine called a Clinebell. The Clinebell freezes the water from the bottom up, using water circulation to remove all the air bubbles from the top and allowing an entire 300 lbs block to freeze perfectly clear.
The cloudiness in ice is caused by air bubbles that get trapped in the ice as it freezes. When you make "normal" ice using a cube tray in your freezer, the ice tends to freeze from the outside in. As the water freezes, the air bubbles get pushed towards the center where they finally freeze together into a cloud. .
To make clear ice, you can control this crystal formation process through "directional freezing". If you insulate all sizes of the ice, and force it to freeze from the top down, you can push the air bubbles down, keeping the top layer of ice crystal clear. This is how most at-home clear ice rigs work.
Here is an amazing animation of directional freezing in action: https://www.studioneat.com/blogs/main/18098872-how-to-make-clear-ice
Bulk clear ice is produced using a machine called a Clinebell. The Clinebell freezes the water from the bottom up, using water circulation to remove all the air bubbles from the top and allowing an entire 300 lbs block to freeze perfectly clear.
How can I get clear ice?
You want to start living the clear ice life today? Excellent! There are two ways you can experience clear ice in your home.
1. Make it yourself
You can purchase any number of at-home ice makers you can fill with water, put in your freezer, and harvest clear ice cubes ever 24 hours. You can see some of these on our maker page.
2. Buy it from an ice maker
A large number of artisan/luxury ice companies are popping up all over the world. Head over to the maker page to see if there is a clear ice company near you!
1. Make it yourself
You can purchase any number of at-home ice makers you can fill with water, put in your freezer, and harvest clear ice cubes ever 24 hours. You can see some of these on our maker page.
2. Buy it from an ice maker
A large number of artisan/luxury ice companies are popping up all over the world. Head over to the maker page to see if there is a clear ice company near you!
Preparing an ice block
Whether you make the block at home, or purchase it from an ice vendor, chances are you will need to break down the block into smaller cubes that you can carve to fit into glasses. I typically purchase bulk ice, and break everything down into 3 inch cubes that I store in the freezer to prepare for drinks when I need them. Here are the steps to breaking down an ice block.
1. Let the block "temper"
If you have the right tools, you can work with clear ice right out of the freezer. But for most of us working at home, we'll need to use a saw, a blade, and a mallet to break the large block down into smaller blocks that can fit a cocktail glass. If you start trying to saw and split the block too soon, the ice will be too hard and won't split clean. I recommend removing your ice block from the freezer, and let it sit out until all the freezer frost is gone and the entire block is crystal clear. Once that happens, it is ready for splitting.
2. Get an ice saw, blade, and wooden mallet
When I purchase bulk ice, it normally comes in 20-40 pound blocks. To split this efficiently and reduce the amount of waste from the block, you need three things:
3. Keep splitting in half each time
Once you make the first split, keep cutting everything in half until you now have cubes 3x3 inches in size (or smaller depending on your preference). The process is always saw first, insert the blade, and give it a swift wack with the mallet. I tend to keep a bunch of freezer bags nearby and keep putting the ice in those and then move them directly to a cooler or freezer when the back is filled. If you wait too long to put the cubes or split blocks back in the freezer, the bags will fill with water, then that water will freeze cloudy and you'll have to clean up the blocks later.
1. Let the block "temper"
If you have the right tools, you can work with clear ice right out of the freezer. But for most of us working at home, we'll need to use a saw, a blade, and a mallet to break the large block down into smaller blocks that can fit a cocktail glass. If you start trying to saw and split the block too soon, the ice will be too hard and won't split clean. I recommend removing your ice block from the freezer, and let it sit out until all the freezer frost is gone and the entire block is crystal clear. Once that happens, it is ready for splitting.
2. Get an ice saw, blade, and wooden mallet
When I purchase bulk ice, it normally comes in 20-40 pound blocks. To split this efficiently and reduce the amount of waste from the block, you need three things:
- An ice saw - you can purchase this online. You'll want to saw a line across the block you are splitting. This is called "scoring the block"
- A blade for splitting - I use something called a Japanese Hatchet (or Nata) for splitting my ice blocks. A normal kitchen cleaver or knife will also work. Place this into the score that you saw.
- A wooden mallet - I suppose you can get a rubber mallet, but wood sounds so much better! Once you've scored the block, and inserted the blade, give it one swift wack with the mallet and the block should split straight and clean through. If that doesn't happen, you possibly didn't let the block temper long enough.
3. Keep splitting in half each time
Once you make the first split, keep cutting everything in half until you now have cubes 3x3 inches in size (or smaller depending on your preference). The process is always saw first, insert the blade, and give it a swift wack with the mallet. I tend to keep a bunch of freezer bags nearby and keep putting the ice in those and then move them directly to a cooler or freezer when the back is filled. If you wait too long to put the cubes or split blocks back in the freezer, the bags will fill with water, then that water will freeze cloudy and you'll have to clean up the blocks later.
After I get some clear ice cubes, how do I use them?
After you have acquired some clear ice (through creation or purchase), it takes a little more preparation to use them than normal ice cubes. To maximize the clear ice experience, try these two important steps.
1. Remove from cubes from the freezer and temper
Just like the large ice block, if you handle/touch the ice too soon after pulling it from the freezer, it will crack or split. If that happens, it defeats the entire purpose of having a clear ice cube! It will also crack if you pour your drink over it too soon. Before using a clear ice cube, remove it form the freezer and let it sit out until it is completely clear. Once all of the freezer frost is gone, it is ready to be handled and used. Tempering can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on the size of the cube and the warmth of the room.
I like to use a special wooden cutting board as my "tempering board" to ensure that there is never any food or impurities on the board that could impart flavor to the ice while it is tempering.
2. Get an ice knife and start carving!
On of my favorite parts of using clear ice is shaping them to the glass. Chances are, the cubes aren't going to fit in certain sized glasses. This gives you a creative opportunity to prepare the ice in a way that you find most beautiful. Cut all of the hard edges to shape them like jewels. There is the emerald cut, the challenging diamond cut, there are ice sphere makers, or ice sphere hand carving approaches. The sky is the limit to your creativity. Adding facets is going to increase the amount of light that reflects through the ice and the drink adding to the overall experience.
You can purchase an ice knife online, or you can use any sharp and heavy chisel. Choose what you feel most comfortable with!
1. Remove from cubes from the freezer and temper
Just like the large ice block, if you handle/touch the ice too soon after pulling it from the freezer, it will crack or split. If that happens, it defeats the entire purpose of having a clear ice cube! It will also crack if you pour your drink over it too soon. Before using a clear ice cube, remove it form the freezer and let it sit out until it is completely clear. Once all of the freezer frost is gone, it is ready to be handled and used. Tempering can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes depending on the size of the cube and the warmth of the room.
I like to use a special wooden cutting board as my "tempering board" to ensure that there is never any food or impurities on the board that could impart flavor to the ice while it is tempering.
2. Get an ice knife and start carving!
On of my favorite parts of using clear ice is shaping them to the glass. Chances are, the cubes aren't going to fit in certain sized glasses. This gives you a creative opportunity to prepare the ice in a way that you find most beautiful. Cut all of the hard edges to shape them like jewels. There is the emerald cut, the challenging diamond cut, there are ice sphere makers, or ice sphere hand carving approaches. The sky is the limit to your creativity. Adding facets is going to increase the amount of light that reflects through the ice and the drink adding to the overall experience.
You can purchase an ice knife online, or you can use any sharp and heavy chisel. Choose what you feel most comfortable with!
Summary
There you have it! That is how you can make, acquire, and enjoy clear ice in your home!
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- Make it yourself in a rig or purchase it from an ice vendor
- Cut down the block using a saw, blade, and mallet into usable sized cubes
- Temper the cubes before using, and then cut them into gems
- Put them in your drink and amaze yourself and your friends!
Sign up for my newsletter to get the latest in clear ice resources delivered to your inbox.
If you have any comments about this HOW TO article, send them my way!