Category: ice

  • Moldy Ice

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    Camper English
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    I got these alphabet ice molds on Amazon. They're fun because I can send love notes to myself in my cocktails, and leave subliminal messages in other peoples' drinks. The item description says they can also be used in the oven and for things like butter molds and chocolate, but that sounds hard. I'll stick…

  • Easter Ice

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    Camper English
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    You know how I made those cool ice balls before? Well, they really come out looking more like eggs, which inspired me to make some ice eggs for Easter cocktails. Again I just used water balloons filled at the sink. Note: I experimented with water to see if the powder inside the balloons was changing…

  • Ice As Art

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    Camper English
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    Gawking at ice isn't just for cocktail nerds anymore! I saw this art review in New York Magazine of an exhibit at Boiler in Williamsburg. In 2004, Strachan cut a 2.5-ton block of ice from the Alaskan Arctic, shipped it to the Bahamas (where he’s from), and exhibited it there in a hermetically sealed refrigerated…

  • Ice Balls Made Easy

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    Camper English
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    While everyone in their right mind would love one of those fancy giant ice ball makers that go for $1300 and up, they're not the most practical solution for the home mixologist. [Note: since this post went up we've come up with lots of great solutions for clear ice balls and other ice technology. Check…

  • The History of the Ice Trade

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    Camper English
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    I recently finished reading The Frozen Water Trade: A True Story by Gavin Weightman. The book is the story of Frederic Tudor, whose wacky idea of cutting ice in winter from ponds in Massachusetts and selling it to people in warmer climates in the summer turned into a 100 year industry until refrigerated ice became…

  • San Francisco’s Next All-Star Bar

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    Camper English
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    I recently spoke with Erik Adkins (Slanted Door, Flora) who is the bar manager of the soon-to-open Charles Phan (Slanted Door's chef/owner) restaurant next to the Soma Grand building on Mission Street. After much wavering on the name (the code name was "Phantom" at one point, get it), they seem to have settled on Heaven's…

  • Nerdiest Text Message of the Week

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    SAN FRANCISCO– New bar Gitane on Claude Lane has received delivery of a Kold Draft ice machine, according to reports to the Alcademics wire service. — The saddest part about this text message is not that it was sent, but that I was excited when I read it.

  • Clearly a Failure

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    Camper English
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    There are various methods people use to make the clearer ice. To remove the air bubbles that make ice cloudy, people suggest boiling or refreezing the water. I decided to give a few options a try to see what worked best. But as we'll see, my results are less than conclusive. Using individual sized apple…