VinePair writer Tim McKirdy wrote a story on How to Create Perfectly Clear Ice, so naturally he included Directional Freezing, and the method I created way back in 2009 using a picnic cooler.
This is just a quick post to link to it so that I don't forget. Check it out here.
Men's Journal did a story on directional freezing highlighting my cooler method of 11 years ago. Spoiler: It still works.
I was interviewed for a story on ice that appeared in the Wall Street Journal this week.
Here's the story link if you have subscriber access.
The intro part that mentions me is below.
A few years back. a couple different ice adventurers figured out that you can use a silicone ice cube tray to make clear cubes in a directional freezing system (an insulated cooler in a freezer) simply by poking holes in the bottom of the tray, setting the tray on a small riser (to give a place for the cloudy water to get pushed down through), and filling the cooler only to the level of the top of the silicone tray.
When frozen, you can pry out the tray from the block and your cubes are shaped like cubes. Here's the first post where the process was shown.
More recently, Shawn Soole of Soole Hospitality and the Post Shift Podcast messaged me to suggest: If you can do it with one layer of trays, can you put another tray underneath it, also with holes and get two sets of cubes at once?
Great question!
I decided to try it and the answer is yes. However, as you'll see by scrolling through the pictures, the first tray is easy to ply off the frozen block. The second one: Not So Much. I was able to chip it out using an ice pick though. It took a while but not forever.
My conclusion about this is: Yes it works!
But is is practical? I think it would be if you had ice cube trays nearly the size of the whole cooler. Otherwise you're doing what I did, which is chipping off most of the cooler-sized block just to get two trays worth of cubes. It would be more efficient if I put in these two trays side by side so I only had to freeze a few inches of the block.
Someone please make an ice cube tray that's exactly cooler size, please!
I be you could do it with the Ghost Ice system, but you'd have to cut up a second tray (and those suckers ain't cheap) to place beneath the top tray, and leave it in the freezer twice as long. That might be efficient in some systems where you need to leave the tray in the freezer over the weekend, but probably for most people it would be simpler to just do one layer at a time.
So I'm going with: Theory proven. Reality? Not so efficient.
Steps:
And remember to check out the full list of Ice Experiments on Alcademics for tons of awesome ice projects.
Josh Colquitt [facebook page] contacted me on Facebook to share some clear ice work he's been doing. He has been filling a punch cooler (aka "beverage dispenser") with water and freezing with the top off inside a big top-loading freezer.
The cooler freezes from top to bottom via directional freezing, leaving him with a big round cylinder of ice to use. He then carves stuff out of it using power tools.
He gave me permission to share pictures of his work, including a huge punch/fruit bowl and other objects. I'd never seen anyone use that container before, great stuff.
All of the ice projects on Alcademics can be found on this page.
In this story in The Guardian, I'm mentioned as "perhaps the pre-eminent cocktail ice scholar," in the section about ice snobs.
I'll take it.
The story isn't about me at all, but it's a long read (no really, it's a very long read) about the packaged ice industry through the lens of one major ice provider, taking into account the history of ice in food in drink overall.
Writer George Reynolds did a great job with it and I've got it bookmarked to read again this weekend and chase down all the historical threads I didn't already know about.
Give it a read, I hope you enjoy nerding out on this stuff as I do.
It's time for the annual Alcademics drink book round-up! Below are all the books that have come to my attention in 2020. I don't follow wine/beer closely so there are only a few in that section.
The links below are to Amazon and to Bookshop.org. If you buy stuff after clicking on a link, I may receive a referral fee, thanks! If there is just one link, that's to Amazon as I only started using Bookshop mid-way through the year – you can always click over to Bookshop and search there. Bookshop.org allows you to order from small bookstores directly, or buy from a general fund that supports independent bookstores.
Whiskey Books
Whiskey Master Class: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, and More by Lew Bryson
The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries: The Portable Expert to Over 200 Distilleries and the Spirits they Make (From Absinthe to Whisky, and Everything in Between) by Davin de Kergommeaux and Blair Phillips
Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?: Setting the Table for Tastings, Food Pairings, Dinners, and Cocktail Parties by Peggy Noe Stevens and Susan Reigler
Whisky, it's not rocket science by Mickael Guidot
Canadian Spirits: The Essential Cross-Country Guide to Distilleries, Their Spirits, and Where to Imbibe Them by Stephen Beaumont and Christine Sismondo
Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland’s Whiskies by Margarett Waterbury buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
The Curious Bartender’s Guide to Malt, Bourbon & Rye Whiskies by Tristan Stephenson [Amazon] [Bookshop]
The Sazerac by Tim McNally [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Beginner's Guide to Whiskey: Traditions, Types, and Tastes of the Ultimate Spirit by Sam Green [Amazon][Bookshop]
The Terroir of Whiskey: A Distiller's Journey Into the Flavor of Place by Rob Arnold [Amazon][Bookshop]
American Spirit: Wild Turkey Bourbon from Ripy to Russell by David Jennings [Amazon][Bookshop]
Other Spirits: Gin, Rum
Gin: How to Drink it: 125 Gins, 4 Ways by Dave Broom [Amazon]
The Curious Bartender’s Guide to Rum by Tristan Stephenson [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Brand Books
Seedlip Cocktails: 100 Delicious Nonalcoholic Recipes from Seedlip & The World's Best Bars by Seedlip
Chartreuse, The Liqueur [CocktailKingdom]
A Long Stride: The Story of the World's No. 1 Scotch Whisky by Nicholas Morgan buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Science Food and Drink Books
Science and Cooking: Physics Meets Food, From Homemade to Haute Cuisine by Michael Brenner, Pia Sörensen, David Weitz [Amazon][Bookshop]
Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells by Harold McGee: [Amazon][Bookshop]
The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential Recipes by Nik Sharma [Amazon][Bookshop]
Beer, Wine, Vermouth, Sake, Fermentation
Beer: Taste the Evolution in 50 Styles by Natalya Watson
A Spirited Guide to Vermouth: An Aromatic Journey with Botanical Notes, Classic Cocktails and Elegant Recipes by Jack Adair Bevan
How to Make Hard Seltzer: Refreshing Recipes for Sparkling Libations by Chris Colby [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Wine, Unfiltered: Buying, Drinking, and Sharing Natural Wine by Katherine Clary [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Hugh Johnson s Pocket Wine Book by Hugh Johnson [Amazon]
The Wine Game by Zeren Wilson [Buy]
The Japanese Sake Bible: Everything You Need to Know About Great Sake (With Tasting Notes and Scores for Over 100 Top Brands) by Brian Ashcraft [Amazon][Bookshop]
Journey of Sake: Stories and Wisdom from an Ancient Tradition [Amazon]
Fermentation as Metaphor by Sandor Ellix Katz [Amazon] [Bookshop]
History Books
Rabbinic Drinking: What Beverages Teach Us About Rabbinic Literature by Jordan D. Rosenblum
How to Drink: A Classical Guide to the Art of Imbibing (Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers) by Vincent Obsopoeus [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Non-Alcoholic Drinks
How to Drink without Drinking: Celebratory alcohol-free drinks for any time of the day by Fiona Beckett [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Good Drinks: Alcohol-Free Recipes for When You're Not Drinking for Whatever Reason by Julia Bainbridge [Amazon] [Bookshop]
FIZZ: A Beginners Guide to Making Natural, Non-Alcoholic Fermented Drinks
by Elise van Iterson and Barbara Serulus
Zero: A New Approach to Non-Alcoholic Drinks [Amazon] [The Aviary]
Bartending: Narrative and Professional
Unvarnished: A Gimlet-eyed Look at Life Behind the Bar by Eric Alperin and Deborah Stoll
Bartender as a Business: Building Agency from Craft by Jason Littrell [Amazon][Bookshop]
Botanical Focus and Witchcraft
Garden to Glass: Grow Your Drinks from the Ground Up by Mike Wolf
Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine by Rosalee de la Forêt and Emily Han
WitchCraft Cocktails: 70 Seasonal Drinks Infused with Magic & Ritual by Julia Halina Hadas [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Potions, Elixirs & Brews: A modern witches' grimoire of drinkable spells by Anais Alexandre [buy on Bookshop ] [buy on Amazon]
Blackthorn's Botanical Brews: Herbal Potions, Magical Teas, and Spirited Libations by Amy Blackthorn [buy on Bookshop ] [buy on Amazon]
Cocktail Books
General/Classic/Historic Cocktail Books
Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: Prohibition Centennial Edition: From the 1920 Pick-Me-Up to the Zombie and Beyond – 150+ Rediscovered Recipes … With a New Introduction and 66 New Recipes by Ted Haigh (Author)
Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails by John deBary
Spirited: Cocktails from around the World by Adrienne Stillman [Amazon] [Bookshop]
The New Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Think Like a Master Mixologist, with 500 Recipes by Dale DeGroff [Amazon] [Bookshop]
On the House: Over 100 Essential Tips and Recipes for the Home Bartender by Cider Mill Press buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Classic Cocktails by Brian D. Hoefling [Amazon][Bookshop]
Splash: Modern Classic Cocktails by Ivy Mix (Author), Whoo Kid [Amazon]
CO Specs: Recipes & Histories of Classic Cocktails by Cas Oh [Amazon]
Themed Cocktail Books
The Good Reverend's Guide to Infused Spirits: Alchemical Cocktails, Healing Elixirs, and Cleansing Solutions for the Home and Bar by Steven Grasse, Sonia Kurtz, Michael Alan
Camp Cocktails: Easy, Fun, and Delicious Drinks for the Great Outdoors by Emily Vikre
Drinking with Chickens: Free-Range Cocktails for the Happiest Hour by Kate E. Richards
Easy Tiki: A Modern Revival with 60 Recipes by Chloe Frechette
Disco Cube Cocktails: 100+ innovative recipes for artful ice and drinks by Leslie Kirchhoff
Essential 3-Ingredient Cocktails: 75 Classic And Contemporary Drinks To Make At Home by Amy Traynor
Pink Gin: More than 30 pink-hued cocktails
Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails.
Behind the Bar: 50 Cocktail Recipes from the World's Most Iconic Hotels by Alia Akkam [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Fizz: 80 Joyful Cocktails and Mocktails for Every Occasion by Olly Smith [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Beautiful Booze: Stylish Cocktails to Make at Home by Natalie Migliarini and James Stevenson [Amazon] [Bookshop]
The Cocktail Dictionary: An A-Z of cocktail recipes, from Daiquiri and Negroni to Martini and Spritz by Henry Jeffreys [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Peaky Blinders Cocktail Book: 40 Cocktails Selected by The Shelby Company Ltd by Sandrine Houdre-Gregoire [Amazon] [Bookshop]
The Shaken and the Stirred: The Year's Work in Cocktail Culture (The Year's Work: Studies in Fan Culture and Cultural Theory) Edited by Stephen Schneider and Craig N. Owens [Amazon] [Bookshop]
T𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 by Grade A Fancy Magazine [buy]
Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium by Glenn Dakin buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Classy as Fuck Cocktails: 60+ Damn Good Recipes for All Occasions buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Shake Strain Done: Craft Cocktails at Home by J. M. Hirsch buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Tequila & Tacos: A Guide to Spirited Pairings by Katherine Cobbs buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop]
Queer Cocktails: 50 Cocktail Recipes Celebrating Gay Icons and Queer Culture by Lewis Laney [Bookshop]
Drinks on the Lanai: Cocktails, Mocktails And Cheesecake Inspired By The Golden Girls by Elouise Anders [Amazon][Bookshop]
The Aviary: Summer Cocktails [The Aviary]
Give Me Liberty and Give Me a Drink!: 65 Cocktails to Protest America’s Most Outlandish Alcohol Laws by C. Jarrett Dieterle
Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season by Jessica Strand [Amazon][Bookshop]
Winter Drinks: Over 75 recipes to warm the spirits including hot drinks, fortifying toddies, party cocktails and mocktails [Amazon][Bookshop]
Bar L.M. by Lindsay Matteson [etsy]
How to Drink Like a Royal by Albert W. A. Schmid [Amazon][Bookshop]
Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm up Winter by Emma Stokes [Amazon][Bookshop]
Düngeonmeister: 75 Epic RPG Cocktail Recipes to Shake Up Your Campaign by Jef Aldrich, Jon Taylor [Amazon][Bookshop]
Drink Books Tied to Places
Distilled in Vermont: A History & Guide with Cocktail Recipes by Chris Maggiolo [Amazon] [Bookshop]
The United States of Cocktails: Recipes, Tales, and Traditions from All 50 States (and the District of Columbia) by Brian Bartels [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Behind Bars: High Class Cocktails Inspired by Low Life Gangsters by Vincent Pollard [Amazon] [Bookshop]
Spirits of Latin America: A Celebration of Culture & Cocktails, with 100 Recipes from Leyenda & Beyond by Ivy Mix
Drinking French: The Iconic Cocktails, Apéritifs, and Café Traditions of France, with 160 Recipes by David Lebovitz
The Pikes Cocktail Book: Rock 'n' roll cocktails from one of the world's most iconic hotels by Dawn Hindle
Apotheke: Modern Medicinal Cocktails by Christopher Tierney, Erica Brod [Amazon][Bookshop]
Drink-Culture Related Books
The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
I was emailing with Dale DeGroff about the new edition of his book The New Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Think Like a Master Mixologist, with 500 Recipes and ice came up, as it does. It turns out he was using the big 1.25 inch (32 mm) Kold-Draft cubes at the Rainbow Room way back in the day.
I was not aware that the machine went back that far. I first became familiar with it at the new bars of the craft cocktail renaissance around 2006-2010. Here's me quoting myself in a story:
“I used to say at the time that the Venn diagram of America’s best cocktail bars and bars that owned Kold-Draft machines was a near-perfect circle,” recalls drinks journalist and ice enthusiast Camper English.
I forgot that I gave that quote in a story written by Drew Lazor for Punch. So I forgot that I'd already read some of the brand history. Lazor also wrote:
Manufactured since 1955 in Erie, Pa., Kold-Draft once dominated domestic placements “in bars, restaurants, hospitals, and fishing and sporting locations, because of the long life of the cubes,” according to DeGroff.
DeGroff was first introduced to Kold-Draft in 1984 by the late restaurateur Joe Baum, who installed two of the machines at Manhattan’s Rainbow Room, the post from which the pioneering DeGroff helped spark the modern cocktail revival. During this era, a definite ebb in American barcraft, Kold-Draft had largely faded from prominence, ceding ground to cheaper, quicker machines that spat out smaller, faster-melting cubes. As DeGroff’s detail-oriented approach to drink-making gained steam, ice became a major talking point again—and he stumped for Kold-Draft so passionately in the press that the company brought him on as a consultant.
Meanwhile, I followed up with Dale DeGroff, basically asking "Oh you had Kold Draft then? I didn't realize it was around that long." He replied to me:
The Kold-Draft company had a monopoly on ice machines for bars and restaurants, sporting lodges (fishing parties loved them for long outings to keep the fish fresh in their coolers), hospitals for bedside pitchers, anywhere that big cubes that lasted were needed. Joe [Baum] used those machines starting in 1953 at the Newarker Restaurant and used them throughout the RA properties, Four Seasons, Las Fonda Del Sol Forum of the 12 Caesars etc. etc…
The demise of that company came swiftly in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The Japanese swept into the market with machines that made all manner of small ice very quickly so bars could get away with one instead of two machines. That was the "…tini" era of sweet and fruity drinks and that sort of ice was actually helpful in cutting the cloying sweetness of many popular juicy style drinks.
The serious on-the-rock scotch and other strong spirits drinkers were not too thrilled, but they were a dwindling crowd.
I worked for Kold-Draft from early 1990s as a consultant through the early new millennium to drive bar restaurant business back in their direction. Julie [Reiner] and Audrey [Saunders] all went with them but then the problems started.
The company was floundering with three different owners and 4 different president / CEOs and they hadn't kept up with the improving technology so their machines needed constant repairs. The trick became to lease the machines with a service contract rather then buy.
Then early millennium (I think) there was a possible merger with Hoshizaki that fell through when Kold-Draft sold again, but not before Hoshizaki got the moving water large cube technology that made those cubes special. They improved the technology, but could only use that particular machine in Europe at first. I don't know where that is these days, maybe they finally were able to introduce their larger cube machines in the USA.
So good ice used to be a thing and it was killed by disco drinks!
My understanding of the status of Hoshizaki in the US is that their largest cube is a bit smaller than Kold-Draft; about 1 inch by 1.25" rather than 1/25" square. In Europe, they have adapters for the machines that can make larger cubes, ping pong ball-sized spheres, and shapes like hearts and stars. They have a briefcase they display at Bar Convent Berlin every year that instead of being filled with diamonds like in a heist movie, is filled with ice options.
The reason we don't see those shapes of ice in the US, from my understanding, is that they do not meet US energy compliance standards.
Anyway, that's enough ice talk for today, See you tomorrow probably.
This isn't the first year I decided to freeze some goofy stuff in ice for Halloween. Remember that all the years of ice experiments can be found at the Index of Ice Experiments page.
Some previous years I've done:
This year I went back to ye olde drugstore and bought more stuff I thought would freeze well. I ended up with some skeleton hands, a vampire bat skeleton, and some little finger puppets.
Next up, a bat skeleton. This I just placed across the top of the cooler – it fit snugly into place.
And finally, I made ice with these skeleton hands frozen in it – a single hand in a plastic box inside the cooler, and two hands just resting in the block.
