Talk about a chilling effect.
As summer officially kicks off and an oppressive heat wave threatens to melt the Northeast, New Yorkers will be venturing to rooftop lounges and chic watering holes to cool down, but with icy flair.
Big Apple bars are happy to pay extra to have crystal-clear ice delivered to their doors because in the world of fine cocktails, everything that goes into a drink matters — even the ice.
Customers have even come to expect it, and much more.
While most people only think of ice as a simple afterthought, it’s already crystal clear to those in the know that ice plays a pivotal role in the flavor, presentation and overall experience of a perfect drink.
And while fancy frozen cubes aren’t a brand-new concept, specialty cocktail ice has saturated high-end bars and restaurants — and now even private parties are embracing the trend that’s done anything but cool in recent years.
“Almost any new cocktail bar and restaurant aspiring for awards does this,” Alex Dominguez, head bartender at Bar Calico, told The Post.
Unlike the typical crushed or cubed ice, bespoke ice is often larger, clearer and meticulously crafted.
At its core, specialty ice is about precision and purpose. It’s also about expecting the unexpected.
That includes petite flowers, literally frozen in time, encased and floating in a snow globe-like ball.
Or fancy-font engravings to personalize and add elegance to a birthday or anniversary celebration.
Or even adorable gummy bears patiently waiting for the melt to happen so the imbiber can pop the candy in their mouth as a sweet cocktail chaser.
Like many other top-tier city venues, Dominguez’s team adds thrill to the chill at their Flatiron District bar by ordering from Hundredweight Ice, which charges $30 for 50 pieces of the standard but upsized 2-inch cubes and $5 per 2.25-inch hand-cut “Geodesic” sphere.
This cold is bold, and clear-cut ice has become “the norm” at most craft cocktail bars, according to Isabel “Izzy” Tulloch of A Pop-Up Called Pancakes, a boozy, monthlong residency at S&P Lunch.
She and her partner Danielle De Block, both alums of Milady’s and Clover Club, are using custom cubes from Clear Cut Ice so that “the drinks look beautiful but more importantly than that, they taste the way we intend them to for a significantly larger amount of time.”
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“It’s fashion and function. Cocktails look sleek and manicured, but even more than that, the large cubes keep drinks colder longer and dilute slower,” Tulloch told The Post.
Ice Modern — the cocktail ice sector of Okamoto Studio, which specializes in frozen sculptures — also serves many of the city’s cocktail spots, like the St. Cloud rooftop bar at the Knickerbocker Hotel in Times Square, along with making specialty ice cubes for everything from birthday parties to baby showers.
Some popular places, like St. Cloud, pass at least some of the cost to the customer, as The Post recently discovered when ordering a glass of Maker’s Mark: it came with a $2 “Big Ice Cube” up-charge.
However, venues like Calico and Pancakes do not adjust theirs, saying the high-end product helps justify their preset cocktail costs.
Custom ice has also become a hit for branded events.
“Brands are always looking for fun ways to add custom touches to an event. Ice has become popular because it’s super photographable and often the first touchpoint when guests enter for cocktails,” Lucinda Constable, an event director based in NYC, told The Post.
She often orders ice frozen with flowers and fruit from Ice Modern — including stemmed maraschino cherries for a recent shindig.
The company has (literally) carved out a niche by using machines to freeze people’s names, buds, candy and even disco balls into cubes of ice.
“It’s very unique. Very intimate,” Shintaro Okamoto, who took over the studio from his father in 2008, told The Post.
They’ll also make batches as small as two ice cubes — at $8 each — with a multipurpose “You Rock” or “Drink Up” carved into them.
Okamoto was one of the first to bring specialty ice to bars and parties across the five boroughs, making fancy mini-floes after noticing his ice sculpture clients were increasingly interested in the quality of their cocktail ice.
“There was a rise and kind of rebirth of American cocktails in the 2010s, and the ice is such a key ingredient,” Okamoto told The Post of the boom in business.
“If you don’t have big, clear cubes, you’re not a legitimate bar. It almost separates places between a cocktail bar and a dive bar.”
And while people were already becoming home ice connoisseurs — making budget-friendly but “fancy” rose-shaped or fruit-infused ice themselves — they’re now paying $4 per customized cube for parties.
After all, for the non-DIY crowd, this freeze isn’t a breeze.
High-tech equipment and particular skills go into making crystal-clear ice, and Dominguez said most bars don’t even have the time, space or machinery to make a perfect cube of ice on location.
“It takes a lot of care and understanding and maintenance to keep this going on,” Okamoto added. “So, you know, not everyone can do it.”
Although Okamoto wants to keep some of his perfected technique to himself, he shared that the secret to making his ice is filtered water, a motor to keep the water moving, and ice machines that freeze from the bottom up to eliminate distracting air bubbles.
Crystal-clear ice is preferred because its purity enhances the aesthetics of the drink and minimizes the dilution rate, preserving the integrity of the cocktail.
“Beyond the look of the drink, the best bartenders understand the flavor benefits of clear ice,” NYC-based certified taster Mandy Naglich noted to The Post.
“Clear ice doesn’t interfere with the colors or garnishes of a cocktail, so bartenders can bring their creativity to life.”
But it’s not just about clarity.
Large, solid cubes or spheres are popular for their slower melt rate, ensuring that the drink stays colder for longer without compromising flavor.
And, science aside, who can resist cute, custom shapes or embedded flowers that reflect the theme or spirit of a cocktail itself?
“It’s just like having your own little art piece in your glassware,” Okamoto declared.
