I
ce. A modern essential for hot days, when those miniature glaciers work their magic to keep the chill in your drink. But, what we take for granted today was a prized and hard-earned luxury to ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians, who put ice in wine, or Emperor Nero, who chilled his goblets with snow.
Scots too have long enjoyed their whisky with a chill, but ice was scarce and so they used cold stones from nearby river banks to cool their drams – the origin of the phrase ‘on the rocks’, according to Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay’s Master Blender.
In colder countries, ice was widely available in winter from frozen lakes, ponds and rivers. As the use of ice grew in popularity, a new industry blossomed as entrepreneurial spirits began harvesting ice from frozen lakes. Of course, in Europe, a cold winter was needed for the harvest to be successful. In a letter to his friend Nikolaus Simrock in 1794 Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote: “As the winter is so mild, ice is scarce.”
The ice was removed by horses and cleaning the horse excrement from it was a job for the ‘shine boys’, who then sprayed it with formaldehyde to give it its shine. It was then stored in insulated houses and caves or covered in thatch and straw to preserve it.
Ice was easy to get your hands on in the northern hemisphere, but what happened in warmer climates? The first man brave enough to attempt transporting ice was wealthy Bostonite Frederic Tudor. His first attempt in 1806 saw him make a loss of $4,500, as most of the ice melted en route to the West Indies. It took 30 years for his business to become successful.
It was 1850 before the first ice maker made an appearance and it was reserved entirely for industrial use. That all changed in 1929 when German Dr Jurgen Hans created an ice machine that produced edible ice cubes. It turned into a business that in 1932 began manufacturing and selling ice. This paved the way for the modern ice machine and ice harvesting rapidly melted away.
Ice in cocktails
Cubed ice
Suitable for almost all mixing, cubed ice can be used for shaking and stirring and is popular in drinks like Gin and Tonic. The cubed variety is also the ice of choice for cocktail shakers, and works particularly well in Moscow Mules and Cuba Libres.
Shaved/crushed ice
Ideal for drinks that need additional dilution, crushed ice is often used in Mint Juleps and Rum Swizzles.
Cracked ice
Cracked ice is smaller than the cubed variety and melts more quickly. Used for stirring or for quickly shaken drinks, it yields a colder result due to the greater surface area exposure and is great in Caipirinhas and Smashes.
Block ice
In the early days of bartending, all ice came in block form, and it was up to the bartender to create more manageable chunks of ice. Block ice is ideal for drinks that you want to chill but not dilute too much, such as an Old Fashioned or Negroni.
Ice spheres
This variation on block ice is thought to have originated in Japan, where whisky is consumed over ice balls. It takes a very skilful bartender to make ice balls and the shape is not just for aesthetics. The ice ball extends the palate of the whisky and chills the drink with as little dilution as possible.