Comments on: Ice isn’t just cool, it’s important! http://summitsips.com/2009/08/ice-isnt-just-cool-its-important Explorations in Mixology Fri, 04 May 2012 13:40:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Randy http://summitsips.com/2009/08/ice-isnt-just-cool-its-important/comment-page-1#comment-5052 Randy Fri, 07 Jan 2011 19:42:38 +0000 http://www.mooja.com/blog/?p=3#comment-5052 Megan, That's a good question, and a lot of people have a lot of opinions about it. I can tell you what i have observed and what I have heard. The argument is that because of the way Kold Draft ice is made, it has several properties that make it better than the competition. First, the cubes are large. That alone helps to slow down melting simply because the larger mass carries with it more cooling capacity and also, larger piece--depending on their shape--will have less surface area to shed water than lots of smaller pieces of the same mass. The second argument has to do with the freezing process. Because the water is flowing as it freezes in a KD machine, the agitation allows minerals in the water to be washed away, or 'chased' from the solidifying ice along with any air bubbles. This results in clear ice with little or no impurities. Since ice that is pure, clear and solid is devoid of imperfections, it stands to reason that it has more efficient cooling properties. In other words, a solid piece of ice will give you more cooling than one with big air bubbles inside over the life of that ice cube. Finally, clear, solid ice holds its shape, whereas ice with cracks and air bubbles will shatter and break apart in the shaker. Lots of tiny shards result in more dilution for the reasons above. Sometimes, when stirring for example, you want or need smaller pieces to speed up the cooling and to achieve appropriate dilution of a cocktail you plan to strain. Solid chunks are going to slow you down. However, I'd rather just crack a few good cubes in my hand for this! Shaking or stirring aside, big, clear cubes look fantastic in a rocks drink. This isn't saying that a competitor ice maker cannot compete--I have read that there are manufacturers internationally that can achieve similar results, but Kold Draft apparently has patents or something on their process, so they seem to dominate the US market at craft bars and anywhere concerned about ice quality. Anecdotally, I have tried with varying degrees of success to make large cubes as crystal clear as possible at home. It's not easy, but I have found that my drinks are better because of it. I make my own ice now using Tovolo silicone and vintage metal trays, and although these give me a nice workable cube for cocktails, the basic freezing process traps air and minerals and my ice typically has white bubbles at the bottom. Megan,
That’s a good question, and a lot of people have a lot of opinions about it. I can tell you what i have observed and what I have heard. The argument is that because of the way Kold Draft ice is made, it has several properties that make it better than the competition. First, the cubes are large. That alone helps to slow down melting simply because the larger mass carries with it more cooling capacity and also, larger piece–depending on their shape–will have less surface area to shed water than lots of smaller pieces of the same mass. The second argument has to do with the freezing process. Because the water is flowing as it freezes in a KD machine, the agitation allows minerals in the water to be washed away, or ‘chased’ from the solidifying ice along with any air bubbles. This results in clear ice with little or no impurities. Since ice that is pure, clear and solid is devoid of imperfections, it stands to reason that it has more efficient cooling properties. In other words, a solid piece of ice will give you more cooling than one with big air bubbles inside over the life of that ice cube. Finally, clear, solid ice holds its shape, whereas ice with cracks and air bubbles will shatter and break apart in the shaker. Lots of tiny shards result in more dilution for the reasons above.

Sometimes, when stirring for example, you want or need smaller pieces to speed up the cooling and to achieve appropriate dilution of a cocktail you plan to strain. Solid chunks are going to slow you down. However, I’d rather just crack a few good cubes in my hand for this! Shaking or stirring aside, big, clear cubes look fantastic in a rocks drink.

This isn’t saying that a competitor ice maker cannot compete–I have read that there are manufacturers internationally that can achieve similar results, but Kold Draft apparently has patents or something on their process, so they seem to dominate the US market at craft bars and anywhere concerned about ice quality.

Anecdotally, I have tried with varying degrees of success to make large cubes as crystal clear as possible at home. It’s not easy, but I have found that my drinks are better because of it. I make my own ice now using Tovolo silicone and vintage metal trays, and although these give me a nice workable cube for cocktails, the basic freezing process traps air and minerals and my ice typically has white bubbles at the bottom.

]]> By: Megan http://summitsips.com/2009/08/ice-isnt-just-cool-its-important/comment-page-1#comment-5050 Megan Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:32:55 +0000 http://www.mooja.com/blog/?p=3#comment-5050 So why is Kold Draft better than other ice makers? So why is Kold Draft better than other ice makers?

]]> By: Jd Webb http://summitsips.com/2009/08/ice-isnt-just-cool-its-important/comment-page-1#comment-202 Jd Webb Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:20:26 +0000 http://www.mooja.com/blog/?p=3#comment-202 Came across this on StumbleUpon Came across this on StumbleUpon

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