Don't Use Bad Ice in Your Cocktails - Mai Tai Recipe

SUBSCRIBE to Small Screen: http://bit.ly/MF8FOT Sign up for the Small Screen email newsletter & be the first to know when new episodes air on our site!: http://bit.ly/13B6uVE Ice has become one of those things that some cocktail geeks can really… well… geek out about. You don’t have to look to hard to find people discussing the science of crystal clear ice, how to make hand-carved ice balls, or various other highly involved details about the ice that goes into mixing the perfect cocktail. As these deep examinations on ice start turning into esoteric exercise, it is easy to start dismissing the importance of ice all together. Ice is just frozen water isn’t it? What’s the big deal? In truth, thinking about the ice you put into your drink is a very important consideration. At the most rudimentary level it is all about size/shape, and temperature. Some bars will use what is referred to as Half-Cube or Crescent ice. These are two slightly different shapes, but about the same size, about the size of a pat of butter. This small and flatish ice will fill the glass with more ice than cubes would which will make the glass look like it is fuller of beverage than it actually is. Since there is more surface area exposed on this shape, it will melt faster as well. The result of course is a flabby drink, and not much of it. Higher end bars will go out of their way to use nice sized cube ice, the larger the cube, the less surface area exposed, and the slower the melt. For serving a drink on the rocks, you can select a size that virtually fills up the glass, but for mixing a drink you need something smaller so you aren’t fighting with the ice when you stir. The most common size is just a little over 1” cube. From a temperature standpoint, at a fairly rudimentary level, ice can be either “wet” or so cold it is “dry”. Wet ice has already started melting, and has a thin layer of water on it, which will immediately go into the drink. “Dry” ice (not to be confused with the CO2 based “dry ice”) is so cold that its surface hasn’t started melting yet. If you touch a cube of “dry” ice, your finger will stick to it because the ice is so cold it freezes to the small bit of moisture on your finger. So while there is nothing wrong with geeking out about ice, your primary concern is to use nice sized cube which are as cold as possible. The Cocktail Spirit on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1ajfvq5 Small Screen on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/15F6PwT Small Screen on Twitter: http://bit.ly/16Drsuj Small Screen on Pinterest: http://bit.ly/18lxkp9 Watch this episode on Small Screen: Recipe: Instructions: