​...promote the growth and superior business practices for the packaged ice industry through the ongoing development and management of standards and value added services that enhance the image of the industry to the consumers and trade-partners. IPIA will achieve these objectives through proactive leadership directed by priorities set by its member companies.

​“It’s a huge aesthetic difference that can’t be discounted,” argues [Camper] English. “Styrofoam cup versus crystal glassware. It makes for a completely different experience.”

Not everyone agrees. Tom Macy, the head bartender and a partner at Clover Club, the vaunted Brooklyn cocktail den, understands the glassware analogy. But it hasn’t led him to the same conclusion. “I love beautiful glassware,” says Macy. “And I love beautiful bar tools. But it doesn’t necessarily make the drink taste better. If you close your eyes and blind taste it, I defy anyone to tell me which drink has clear ice.”

Dexas is expanding into barware with the new Ice-ology clear ice maker set. The company said the new clear ice maker set is designed to provide consumers with an elevated cocktail experience at home.
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The system is said to make a clear ice cube or sphere to control both temperature and dilution. The system can be filled with water and placed in a freezer for 12 hours. The new ice maker set has a suggested retail price of $39.99 for the large two cubes and two spheres and $49.99 for the eight-count cubes tray.

​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.