Ice can kill or enhance your cocktail so it’s important to get right. It’s not difficult though.
Ice is a key ingredient in cocktail making. So the first rule with ice is to make sure that you’ve always got enough. If you’re planning a party, you’ll probably consider buying some bags of ice from the supermarket. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have an ice maker built into your fridge freezer, unless you’re making ice for just a couple of you, this is more trouble than it’s worth. So ensure you’ve got more ice than you need for your forthcoming party.
What I tend to do when I’m planning to have people round for cocktails, is start making trays of ice a few days in advance. I simply use a food bag & empty the ice tray into the bag and keep it in the freezer. Then refill the ice tray. You can generally do this a couple of times a day if necessary and this will make you enough ice in your freezer without the expense of having to go to the supermarket to buy any.
Don’t overice
I’m not sure that is even a word. The major mistake many people make with cocktail making is to use too much ice. When I say many people I’m mainly thinking of cocktails you have in bars. It’s one of my pet hates buying cocktails out. Most bars indulge in this kidology. Using an oversized glass and completely filling it with ice before they make your cocktail in a shaker is intended to make you think you have a larger drink than you do. Furthermore if the weather is slightly warm, the ice starts melting and within a few minutes you have a cocktail which resembles the flavour of an ice lolly. This is not what a cocktail should taste like! The purpose of the ice is simply to dilute the drink.
As a rule of thumb I tend to use two reasonably large cubes of ice in the shaker when I make cocktails at home. And if I’m making two of the same cocktail and I’ve doubled the ingredients, I will usually still only use two cubes of ice. Not because I’m being stingy, but simply because even 2 cubes of ice will be enough to chill the finished cocktail.
When not to use ice
Not all cocktails need to be served with ice in the glass. Try telling that to a bartender who is making your cocktail. Tell them that you don’t want ice in your cocktail glass and you will frequently see them cower, as their plan unravels. Sometimes they will even be truthful and say that if they don’t put ice in your cocktail glass your drink will look small. So be it.
If you’re serving any cocktail which already has a significant amount of ingredients which will dilute the drink such as fruit juices, then I generally wouldn’t add ice to the glass. Our in-house developed cocktail the Sandbar is a good example of this. Golden rum, Malibu and pineapple juice which makes up at least 50% of the cocktail is a good example. Remember that you’ve got ice in the shaker to combine the ingredients and chill the cocktail but that’s all it needs. The drink you’ve served is now chilled and ready to go. So does this mean I’m against using ice in the cocktail glass? No, it doesn’t. So let’s consider when you should use it.
You need ice when ……
There are many times and styles of cocktail where adding some ice to the glass will definitely improve the result. For instance, if you’re mixing up a prohibition style cocktail, such as a Martini or in my case more probably a Manhattan, adding ice to the glass is a good idea. These prohibition era cocktails are typically short drinks which are made with all alcoholic ingredients. So they’re strong. Adding some ice for dilution is a good way of lightening the drink and reducing the spirit burn. I do the same thing with the classic Negroni. Combine all three ingredients in the glass with some ice and you’re good to go.
There are other drinks such as the classic rum based Mojito which is served in a highball class. The ice here is a useful ingredient as it helps you to build the drink in the glass. First you crush the lime with a muddler in the bottom of the flat bottomed glass. Add your sugar. Grind it all together and then add some ice which will form a column in the middle of the glass. This allows you to stand the mint stems at the side of the ice and helps the finished product look more elegant. Ice chills the drink and helps combine the rum, the mint and the lime. There’s a good reason why this is a classic and was one of the most popular cocktails in the world a few years ago.
So make sure you’ve always got enough ice and if you’ve planned it in advance you won’t even need the expense of having to buy any. Then when using it, consider carefully the role the ice has in your cocktail. If it’s a more diluted cocktail with fruit juice ingredients, you probably don’t need any ice. If you’re making a strong spirity cocktail then you almost certainly do. But consider your decisions around ice based on what you want the ice to do in the drink.
That way, hopefully you will ensure your cocktails are consistently brilliant.
Other things to be aware of when using ice
Large ice melts slower than small ice. Consequently, use larger ice cubes where possible. Crushed ice is a definite ‘no-no’ unless you are making a frappe style of cocktail. It will melt quickly.