​To bartenders and beverage managers at some Philadelphia cocktail bars, ice is one of the most important ingredients, a crucial tool for bringing a spirit, mixed drink, or mocktail to the right temperature. The thought of making a drink with cubes from a regular freezer tray is almost cringeworthy.

"Well-made ice and ice that comes from, say, a hotel machine, is like the difference between cooking a meal using a cast-iron pan or a microwave," says Canyon Shayer, bar manager at Philadelphia Distilling.

Example photo from The Humble Garnish article illustrating directional freezing using BLK Water

To summarize the results, the single most important factor in attaining clear ice is that it be done through slow directional freezing. Water type and temperature will have a small impact on clarity, but the greatest impact it will have is that poor quality water will impart any flavors into the drink as it melts. The two obvious winners for attaining clear ice were the True Cubes mold and the “cooler method” since they both employed directional freezing, allowing the impurities to be easily discarded. For either of these methods, the choice in water type or preparation method had little impact on the resulting ice clarity, but will have a flavor impact as it melts. To make clear ice at home, the only worthwhile methods will incorporate directional freezing.

“You should make better ice,” Leaney says. “Better ice equals better drinks. It means your drinks get colder faster and stay colder for longer.”