Almost every cocktail needs ice. A
lot of cocktails use ice in their preparation: they are stirred in a mixing
glass or shaken in a cocktail shaker. This ice is strained out when the drink
is poured in the glass. Some cocktails are served with ice, the classic example
being drinks that are on the rocks
(served over ice cubes). There are even cocktails which use ice both in
preparation and in the way they are served. Sometimes a glass is pre-chilled by
filling it with ice: just before pouring the drink the ice will be thrown out.
In short, there’s practically no way
to start our bar without taking care of the ice first.
If we look in The Savoy Cocktail Book (compiled in 1930), we can find some ‘hints
for the young mixer’ which start with:
1. Ice is nearly always an absolute
essential for any Cocktail.
2. Never use the same ice twice.
And a bit further:
5. If possible, ice your glasses before
using them.
Of course, since we now have a
fridge at our disposal, it’s also possible to chill the glasses beforehand by
putting them there. However, when you want a fast result, icing a glass is
still the way to go.
Ice may come in different types.
There’s ice cubes, cracked ice, shaved/crushed ice and solid block ice. All you’ll
need for now is either ice cubes (which you can make yourself in the freezer)
or cracked ice (which you can buy in a supermarket or the occasional
well-stocked liquor store).
I usually have at least two trays of
ice cubes on the ready (above tray has a flexible bottom so it’s easier to push
the ice out). If room in my freezer permits, there’s also a sack of cracked ice
which I use up before I fall back on the trays. As long as the size of the
cracked ice is not too large (clung together) or too small, it can be used
instead of ice cubes just fine.
You actually can’t have too much ice.
Having more ice allows you to spare some for chilling glasses and allows you to
be less stingy in filling your shaker. Especially when you’re planning on
having a cocktail party, stock up on massive amounts of ice.
Tap water is just fine and very
drinkable where I live. So, being practical, I wouldn’t waste time freezing natural
spring water, purified water, or some such. Yes, ice will melt, and even when
only used in preparing a cocktail, some of the ice will become part of the
drink. So if someone wants to be a water snob and insists on using special
water, that’s just fine with me. But I see no need.
One technicality concerning ice is
this: most of its cooling power comes from melting. Suppose we have an ice cube
with a temperature of -8°C. This cube will absorb heat from its environment to
get its temperature to 0°C, but it will also absorb heat because it needs the
energy for the transition to water. That energy used for melting is ten times
as large as the energy that’s necessary for warming it up.
This means it’s hard to cool a drink
without diluting it. In other words: if you want to drink it cool but not
diluted, drink it quickly. Going back to the pointers in The Savoy Cocktail Book we find:
6. Drink your Cocktail as soon as
possible. Harry Craddock was once asked what was the best way to drink a
Cocktail: ‘Quickly’, replied that great man, ‘while it’s laughing at you!’
However, the drink I present today
is not in danger of being diluted.
Eskimo Flip
The misleading name of this drink is
actually a joke, which is common to at least the Netherlands and Germany. A
flip is a family of mixed drinks (containing a whole egg, sugar or syrup and
topped with grated nutmeg). So you might expect some kind of cocktail here.
However, the accent lies entirely on the ‘Eskimo’ part.
chilled water
ice cubes
glass: any
Serve the water on the rocks.
In this case I have used a tray with
a special mold which produces ice in pistol form, aptly named ‘Freeze!’.
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