I don't want my ice in berg form...

[Kit-Ginevra]

Now I have sampled many drinks on my travels.Sometimes they put the ice in first and add the drink,sometimes the drink goes in first and they add the ice. Sometimes the ice is crushed,sometimes it's cubes.
Today I had the gin at the bottom of the glass,topped with a whole BLOCK of ice in the glass with a jaunty little piece of fruit on the top. The only way to actually get to the drink was to fish out the big chunk of ice and then smash it to bits and add it back in....

[BookstoreEscapee]

I read something about those giant ice cubes. Apparently they melt slower.

It's trendy or something.

[lordlundar]

I read something about those giant ice cubes. Apparently they melt slower.

It's trendy or something.

It's more basic physics than trendy. Larger cubes have a much smaller surface area for their mass which means they DO melt slower. This causes less water to get in the drink before it's finished so it dilutes it less. The method for making the smaller cubes also renders them in a bowl shape more than a solid cube which increases the surface area and speeds up melting, causing a faster dilution.

A proper punch for example will have a single piece of ice roughly the size of a 5 pin bowling ball in the bowl to prevent such issues and bars and restaurants are starting to put small globes in high quality drinks (like a high quality scotch on the rocks) for the same reason.

That said, it never hurts to ask if you can have smaller cubes if you want it. The larger globes are at a premium (hence used for the high quality drinks) and I guarantee the place will have smaller cubes if you ask for it.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I have seen metal cubes that can be frozen and used in drinks to prevent dilution.

[Seshat]

Also stone, giving a new meaning to 'on the rocks'.

[Dave1982]

Also stone, giving a new meaning to 'on the rocks'.

*picks rock out of drink....drops it back in in disgust*

"Toons......"

*RIP Bob Hoskins*

[lordlundar]

*picks rock out of drink....drops it back in in disgust*

"Toons......"

*RIP Bob Hoskins*

Damn it! you beat me to it.

[Tama]

AND I MEAN ICE!

[AccountingDrone]

AND I MEAN ICE!

LOL Rob and I riff on that ourselves. I actually got a glass of iced tea with a handful of washed gravel once

[KiaKat]

Some dilution is necessary, however, for (alcoholic) drinks. The water breaks the phenol/dicetyl-ethanol bonds, releasing aroma and flavour. You just don't want too much, because watery drinks suck.

(Also, the metal or stone cubes don't actually cool down far enough to properly chill a drink. They're more novelty than practical.)

However, there's a proper way to use the giant cubes. You're supposed to give one a solid thwack with a bar spoon, to crack it open and chip off just a little bit. Makes the whole process work a little more efficiently. You're also supposed to put it in the glass first, then pour drink over top, then garnish.

That was bartender fail. Someone focused more on the trend than on the science.

[TheSHAD0W]

It's more basic physics than trendy. Larger cubes have a much smaller surface area for their mass which means they DO melt slower.

I'm not sure how effective this slow-down would actually be. Ice will melt until the drink reaches a temperature at or a bit below freezing, depending on how much solute is in it, and then only melt quickly enough to maintain that temperature. Even with a solid block it should reach that temperature fairly rapidly.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

I don't like watered down drinks, so I usually use frozen fruit or berries to keep drinks cold. I'm not sure I would like an iceberg form any better than in cube or crushed form though.

[lordlundar]

I'm not sure how effective this slow-down would actually be. Ice will melt until the drink reaches a temperature at or a bit below freezing, depending on how much solute is in it, and then only melt quickly enough to maintain that temperature. Even with a solid block it should reach that temperature fairly rapidly.

This presumes that the liquid can reach equilibrium with the ice in it. The problem is this does require a considerably larger amount of ice (it being less dense naturally) by default and the fact that heavy alcohol drinks like spirits (where the globe tends to be used for) can never actually hit that equilibrium by their nature. To add the air temperature over the chilled drink is also a considerable factor and there's two facets that cause the globe to be better than the small cubes.

The first is that ice is 10% positive buoyant aka 10% is above water and it's roughly 3-7% based of the proof of the drink in the case of alcoholic drinks. This means that smaller cubes are more likely to sit almost entirely submerged in the drink while the globe tends to be only about half to 2/3 submerged. This means a lot less surface area is exposed to the drink, causing slower melting.

The second is the fact that the globe has so much ice above the liquid level means the ice is also cooling the air above the liquid forming a thermal shield over it, slowing the heating from the air. Smaller cubes, being mostly submerged spend most of it's thermal capacity maintaining the lower temperature of the drink and very little cooling the air above it. This means a much smaller thermal barrier and causing the drink to warm up faster.

There is also the final issue of volume to mass of the ice. For the smaller cubes to equal the mass of a globe it requires almost half again the volume taken up because of the air between the cubes. This doesn't even factor in the fact that the globes tend to have minimal impurities in it causing air bubbles that the smaller cubes are prone to. Seeing as ice put into a glass is measured by volume and not by mass, this means you actually have a fair bit less ice in the glass with cubes as opposed to the globe.

Between the faster heating, less mass, and much larger surface area that cubes have, it is a fair bit of difference between the two. As well, if done right (drink poured over the ice), there is more initial exposure to the liquid, dropping the temperature more to begin with.

[wolfie]

A proper punch for example will have a single piece of ice roughly the size of a 5 pin bowling ball in the bowl to prevent such issues and bars and restaurants are starting to put small globes in high quality drinks (like a high quality scotch on the rocks) for the same reason.

Other ways of preventing dilution: for punch, use a block of frozen juice rather than water. For spirits "on the rocks" you can use whiskey stones.

[KiaKat]

Gonna repeat myself here, and say that whiskey stones are ineffective.

Phenols, dicetyls, and other flavour/aroma molecules bind to ethanol. The higher the proof, the more bonds are created. Water breaks these bonds, allowing more aroma and flavour to be released. At the same time, the colder a drink, the more prominent the acids become, providing structure and support for the flavor and giving the drink the perception of "liveliness."

Whiskey stones cannot get cold enough, and are incapable of providing the dilution necessary for a properly balanced drink.