01/05/2020
"ICE"
The most overlooked component of any cocktail is ICE. It comes in all shapes and sizes and in all different temperatures.
Ice actually serves more than one purpose, and a discerning bartender understands which type to use.
Of course we use ice to make drinks ice-cold and palatable, but it's other main function is to add water to a cocktail. Water makes up as much as one-third of a cocktail. It helps to dilute the alcoholic heat built up in a drink and it also integrates some of the softer, more floral nuances found in different spirits.
A key part of making a perfectly balanced cocktail is adding the right amount of water, and this is easier to do with the right type of ice. The size dictates how much or how little water you are adding to a cocktail.
Period drink recipes generally called for one of
FOUR TYPES OF ICE:
1. BLOCK ICE was an oversized chunk that melted slowly and served as a perfect chilling agent in large punch bowls. Generally, bartenders obtained each of the smaller forms of ice from a block of ice with the help of a variety of tools.
2. LUMP OR CUBE ICE were smaller clumps that were used to chill short drinks, such as the OLD-FASHIONED.
3. CRACKED ICE was achieved by breaking up lump ice cubes and worked perfectly for chilling cocktails that were to be shaken or stirred and then strained into a cocktail glass.
4. SNOW was ice shaved from a block and used in much the same way that we'd use crushed ice today. It worked especially well in drinks like the MINT JULEP.
*Use your homemade ice cubes for cocktails: any cocktail served over ice is best shaken or stirred with smaller pieces of ice, and then poured over homemade strong larger ice cubes. Use the bagged ice for serving sodas and even simple drinks like Vodka tonics so you don't burn through your homemade ice too quickly. Remember to keep your ice dry and cold by leaving it in the freezer untill needed. Ice that sits around at room temperature melts too fast in the shaker and glasses, leaving watery cocktails.