It's a new ice age: Create customized ice that will make a splash at your next party
MILWAUKEE -- It's the latest fad in cocktail creations -- Artisanal ice. The right ice can take a drink from ordinary to extraordinary -- and our master mixologist Alisa Malavenda joins Real Milwaukee with some creations your family and friends will go crazy for.
Artisanal Ice – The New Ice Age
Chef Alisa Malavenda
Modernfood4u@aol.com
Looking to impress your guests with artisanal ice that you can create at home. Make sure you start with the right ice for the right cocktail. Ice is a great way to make your cocktails go from ordinary to extraordinary.
Why do bartenders use certain ice for certain cocktails and what is all the fuss about?
Cubes, Spheres and Spears
These big cubes sometimes 2x2 blocks and other times one big round balls) are great for cocktails that are booze based like a Manhattan or negroni that you don’t want to diluted , but also chills the drink. This is where size and surface area really do matter.
Spears are also wonderful for tall drinks like a Collins or fizz drinks. Maintaining cold from top to bottom without diluting.
Crushed and Shaved - Pellet or Cracked
Crushed and Shaved is very fine and used for snow cones , mint juleps
some tike drinks, basically drinks that aren’t harmed by dilution because they melt fast.
Cracked ice is smaller than cubes, good for making margaritas and daiquiri’s so the big cubes don’t clog up your blender ( kind of the size of the gas station ice)
2/3 – 1 C of ice is usually good for one drink depending on how strong you want it.
Pellet is what comes out of soda fountains and some home fridges. If your fridge makes big you can use a blender or something called a Lewis bag and a hammer until they are the right size. The look like ice pebbles and are great for tiki drinks
Outliers - Here is where some fun begins with Artisan Ice
Infused Ice – infuse spices like cinnamon or nutmeg or use coconut water, to give an essence of flavor to a cocktail. Infuse ice with edible flowers, fresh fruit and herbs for a subtle flavor in your cocktail. Plus they are gorgeous!
Use fruit and vegetable juice as ice – This adds lots of flavor to drinks and changes the drink character and flavor of the drink as they melt.
Inside out ice – hollow ice spheres – the concept of “cocktailing your ice instead of icing your cocktail”
Ice Disks – Disks of ice that fits over the glass so you can set garnish or” bite” on top.
Dry Ice- Use with caution to create a foggy cocktail to impress- always wait until the dry ice dissipates before consuming the drink.
Ice vehicles – create a ice shot glass for chilled shots or use a whiskey glass wedge to create a perfect whiskey chilled that won’t become diluted.
Cocktail suggestions :
Inside Out Old Fashion ( hollow ice sphere )
Make Ice Ball
Using a spherical ice mold
For the Cocktail
1 orange wheel
½ oz Tart Cherry Grenadine
3 drops of black strap bitters
2 oz bourbon
Splash of club soda
2 luxardo cherries
To Serve:
The Siren ( juice cubes and infused cubes )
Inspired and Adapted from Jack Dusty’s at the Ritz Carlton Sarasota
3 oz Vodka
2 oz Gin
1 oz St Germain ( elderflower liquer)
2 oz limoncello ( alternatively you could use 1 oz simple syrup and 1.5 oz of fresh squeezed lemon juice)
splash of prosecco or asti spumanti
1 2x2 cranberry or pomegranate ice cubes
1 2x2 red ruby grapefruit ice cubes
1 2x2 edible orchid or other edible flower ice cubes
Shaved Bellini ( granita )
½ C sugar and ½ C water
1 bottle of champagne
1 T lemon Juice
2 oz peach nectar
Seafood Martini Over Crushed Ice with Tomato Water( crushed)
Mound Seafood of your choice over crushed ice or shaved ice.
Serve with tomato water on the side and pour over the seafood cocktail.
For Tomato Water:
20 plum tomatoes, rough chopped
2 T salt
1 T sugar
½ cup vodka
(If you want to add other flavors like ginger , lemon grass , basil, black pepper)
POISION APPLE ( dry Ice )
*USE INFUSION GLASSES OR MAKE SURE THE DRY ICE IS DISSOLVED BEFORE SERVING
2 oz rum or tequila
2 oz apple cider
1 oz of cranberry or pomegranate juice
Combine rum and juices in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, Shake well and strain into a glass that has a few chips of dry ice for an outstanding presentation.
Always take care when using dry ice.
A few rules of thumb:
I prefer not to shake my cocktails that the sole ingredients are booze (negroni, martini or Manhattan). However, cocktails that have the addition of mixers like juice , dairy or egg whites that need aeration to create the foam and texture of a drink it is essential to shake. Crushed ice should only be used for tiki drinks, mint juleps and the like. And ALWAYS use good water remembering that the ice becomes part of the drink.