Ice in drinks is often overlooked (especially here in the UK) but is the essential ingredient often missing which can make all the difference.
Not only does ice bring down the temperature of a drink and alter its taste, the dilution from the water is necessary to achieve the perfect recipe. Indeed if you’re making a cocktail which is meant to be shaken with ice and don’t do that then it’s recommended to add some
After reading Eric Felton’s How’s Your Drink and him singing the praises of Tovolo’s ice cube trays I immediately invested in some and love them. Thankfully they’re now available in the UK. Available in different sizes I love the regular one as the cubes are large enough to not melt to quickly and not so large that they fill the glass and make it hard to drink (a serious downside to the stupidly large round ice cubes Quo Vadis seems to have fallen in love with and add to their Negronis).
I get through ice fairly quickly so never have to worry about it being ‘stale’ or tainted with other flavours and love how it alters a drink so quickly and takes some simple ingredients to a whole other level.
Esquire article on ice in cocktails
Imbibe magazine article on ice
Art of drink- good ice makes good cocktails
In the art of cocktails ice is the secret ingredient
The importance of ice and the best way to use it in its may forms
bitter with a twist 