Crystal clear ice balls make a sharp presentation when it comes to your signature cocktails. Not only do the ice balls make a quick chill for drinks that call for ice, but they also melt slower than traditional ice cubes to prevent watering down while still bringing out the flavors of your drinks. Spirits On Ice takes a look at how to make perfectly clear ice balls in your Spirit Ice Vice.
The key to making completely clear ice balls starts with the freezing method. You can’t just put our hexagonal ice molds in a freezer to make crystal-clear ice. After you fill up the ice molds to a ½ inch below the top level of the mold, put each mold in a small cooler that fits into your freezer. Ice molds must stay on a level surface. The cooler slows down the freezing process to encourage directional freezing. Directional freezing occurs when the ice freezes from the top down, just like the surface of a pond or a lake in winter.
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When you use directional cooling for clear ice balls, leave enough time to make the ice blocks. We suggest freezing ice blocks at least overnight. This gives the slower cooling process a chance to work correctly. Once the molds freeze with directional cooling, they stay clear so long as the ice doesn’t melt and re-freeze. You can transfer them to a regular freezer — out of the portable cooler and out of the molds — once they freeze entirely.
We suggest using purified bottled water for each ice mold for clear ice balls. Nestle’s Pure Life bottled water has much fewer impurities compared to tap water. You can use water run through a filter from your tap, but microscopic pieces of filter media may affect the freezing process. Clear ice balls come out best with as few dissolved particles as possible in the water. Nestle’s bottled water is purified, thereby removing as many harmful contaminants and minerals as possible.
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We have a list of ice vendors across the United States that provide crystal-clear ice for Spirit Ice Vice. This service works best for high-volume establishments or when staffers are just too busy to make their own ice blocks. Simply use the provided ice to make clear ice balls as needed. Keep the ice blocks in a nearby freezer for optimal results.
Talk to us at Spirits On Ice. We can provide you with additional tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years for making crystal clear ice balls. Call us at (513) 932-1250 or contact us for more information.
Kent & Kim Coomer are the husband and wife team behind Spirits On Ice. The Coomers purchased D&E Machine Company in 1990 before turning it into Spirits On Ice, the manufacturer of the Spirit Ice Vice ice ball press. Kent’s background is in custom-machining items out of metal, while Kim has decades of management and relationship-building experience. Together, Kent and Kim engineer a high-quality machine that quickly and efficiently creates customizable ice balls for drinks. The ice ball delivers more than a clear way to chill a beverage. It provides an experience for your guests, whether at home, in a restaurant or bar, or at the 19th hole of the golf course.
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