Ice cubes, crushed ice, ... So many different kinds of ice cubes, but which kind belongs in which cocktail?
We can't stress it enough: temperature is key! That's why it's important to use the right type of ice in your cocktails. What different ice cubes are there and how best to use them in our cocktails?
Ice that has just come out of the ice machine is "wet." This means that the ice begins to melt before it enters the cocktail, causing the cocktail to dilute unnecessarily quickly and deteriorate in flavor. It greatly promotes quality if you empty the ice machine and store the ice in a freezer at -18°C.
Another important tip: the more ice there is in your glass, the colder the cocktail stays and the less likely the ice will melt. So always fill the glass completely with ice, but make sure the ice stays in contact with the liquid. If the ice is only on top of other ice, and therefore not in contact with the cocktail, it is of no use and makes the drinking process more difficult.
1. Ice cubes
The important thing for this type of ice is that you use a solid (think: effectively square ice cubes) and not the "finger-sized" ice cubes you can purchase in supermarkets. Why? The contact surface with the liquid is then much greater, so the ice melts much faster.
2. Crushed ice
Since this is pulverized ice, bad quality hardly exists here. You can purchase a device where you can insert your ice cubes and they will pulverize them into crushed ice. Or you can simply purchase bags at wholesale.
3. Floating ice
We would like to banish the following myth once and for all: if there is less ice in my cocktail, it is less likely to become watery. Wrong! Since ice is lighter than water, ice floats. This is called floating ice and we want to avoid it at all costs. In fact, in this situation, only the top of the cocktail is cooled and thus the bottom heats up faster. In turn, the ice will melt faster.
