Summit Sips

In a recent article, I described the importance of ice in your cocktail, describing the different kinds of ice you may want to use depending on what you are drinking. If you have ever visited the Bradstreet Crafthouse or a handful of other fine destinations, you may have marveled at the drinks that feature incredible spheres of ice—smooth glacial planetoids that literally span the entire width of the glass. Much more than mere aesthetics, these arctic wonders are functional, keeping their cocktails cold while minimizing dilution. That’s because a sphere has the smallest possible surface area for a given volume. Less surface area means less melt, and that results in longer sip time without loss of flavor or temperature.

So how does a bar create a 3-inch sphere of ice? The only answer, up until a couple of years ago was that they carved it! The ice sphere trend started in Japan amidst a mini-craze of whisky drinking. Japanese bar-goers wanted to slowly sip and enjoy their spirits (or maybe they took frequent breaks at the karaoke microphone). It had long been known that large chunks of ice last longer, so eventually someone decided to push that concept to the limit. I like to imagine it was a bright, young college kid majoring in physics or maybe working on a thesis in thermo-dynamics. I picture him as an undiscovered sculptor or perhaps a descendant in a long line of Samurai sword makers.

Method One: Carving
Here’s an amazing video featuring one such artist carving away at a chunk of ice until his sphere is just right. You can do this at home. You really can—if you don’t mind losing a finger or two! Actually, I understand that the process simply involves chopping away at a cube to remove the eight corners, then chopping at each of the 24 corners that result, and so on until it’s relatively smooth. But I don’t recommend this method. I am certain that if I tried this, aside from slicing into my hand, my sphere would come out looking like an ice bean, or a Shmoo. Besides, is this any way to treat your knives? There is an alternative, and it’s a lot easier, but. . .

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