Right!! Back in the old days, plastic water bottles used to fill up the landfills... Now everytime you go to an event, you get those goddamn mugs!! At least we've figured out a good way to put them to use!!
I can't believe I watched almost nine minutes about how to make clear ice AND now having the wish to go ahead and do it. Very good teaching skills here, Sir. Thanks
The effortless home bar is the ideal. Funny how during the pandemic, non-bartenders stocked their homes with complicated things and routines in making drinks while I simply stirred with my finger and then decided to stop drinking altogether (for a bit) to make shrubs and sodas.
@@nopulpapple991 most of the time the best drink you can make is at home. Over 500 bars in my area and maybe 7 don’t use sweet and sour. Awesome with the shrubs and soda. I really like doing clarifyed punches at home
@@justhaveadrink I was always afraid of clarified punches, until I learned better ways to strain them. It just takes a little patience, but no harder than brewing coffee. I have never met anyone that didn't like a clarified punch. The only negative is that it goes too fast.
@@nopulpapple991 first one I think I filter 5 times but now if gotten it down on the first go. Even did one in a place that was was not ideal. My pic is of a clarified punch I call an adult pina colda I did for a friend who big into tiki
I watched the video all the way just as you asked and it was totally worth it! Thank you for showing and informing us viewers on how to make clear ice. I bought 2 different ice trays to make clear ice from Target and both failed. I tried using distilled water with them, checking the ice trays every other hour in hopes that I could get clear ice but failed miserably lol
The ONLY way to make clear ice is directional freezing, all the pro kit does it that way, the differences are in the format, with a Klinebell you get a giant block, with a kold draft you get cubes, but they both make the ice the same way physically, they use a chiller that is only on one side, completely different than the way your home freezer works. They also generally use moving water to keep things crystal clear, but as long as you "contain" your cold to one side at home you will be successful. It has nothing to do with boiling, or using distilled water, it is purely directional freezing.
@@gilbatzri should be "all the pro kits do it that way" , also who cares. You know less than this man on the way behind it. You're just a person with money who does what they're told by the instructions of a thing someone built and you bought. Content to never research and understand the entire concept and reproduce the same effect with your own knowledge. Nope, just go buy stuff and then repeat back what you read about it and what you were told, that's nothing lol.
So... not sure if you will see this (the producer of this video)... but the concept of using the YETI cup (or other double-walled) was great! Chipping it out with the knife was quite a burden though depending on how much clear ice I wanted to do in one shot (24, 36, or 48hrs). HOWEVER, I found an additional hack to your hack which makes it even lazier. I have a set of those oven safe silicone baking sheets... so I got the smallest one I had and rolled it up so that it fit perfectly inside the cup as a barrier. When I pulled the cup out (regardless of the time spend in the freezer) and let it set for the 15 min, all I had to do was grab the top of the baking sheet "tube" all at once and lightly twist and it broke free... every time! :)
I will! The knife is just use to slide between the ice and the wall of the tin to let air where the water is to release the seal. Genius that sounds great!!!! I love hearing about other solutions people have come up with. I will give it a try
There are a lot of clear ice videos out there. This is one of the best because of the level of depth and detail. You've clearly put some time in and experimented. Great job!
@@justhaveadrink Seriously, I went down the rabbit hole a few years ago and have even been trying (unsuccessfully) to make my own molds. Most videos never mention the tempering. Directional freezing was well explained. You even showed a ziploc bag and squeezed the air out for storage. If you use a vacuum sealer the clear ice will last indefinitely. This is the video I'll send next time someone asks me how I do it.
There are nuances to the metal tumbler method that deserve to be explored. I've made 4-5 clear cubes with several different tumblers since watching this video. First, I found that it needs to be a good quality/well insulated tumbler. My cheap give-away ones didn't have the insulating qualities to work well. Second, I found that ~18 hours is the sweet spot. If you let it go completely frozen it takes forever to get the ice out. Third, I had better success but putting a Koozie around the bottom of the tumbler to enhance the top-down freezing method. Fourth, Do NOT use the tumblers with the threaded lids. You need to be sure there's a decent taper so that the ice will slide out after just a short thaw Fifth, the shape is less than ideal for pretty much any application, you'll need to chip/shape it down to something more functional. Lastly, I still found that some amount of trimming of the bottom is usually necessary. That all said, it's a pretty easy option, just be sure to set an alarm for 18 hours after you put it in the freezer, trust me.
Yes. Now I found every insulated mug tamper a little in going towards the bottom has worked for me. Everybody situation has their own variables but that should work for almost everybody. The ones I use a cheap. I know they make some metal ones like at the dollar store that aren't really insulated and those won't work. the blocks fitting into the glass that might not fit many peoples glasses. they fit some of my rocks glasses perfect like in the video. but in some of my rocks glass I do have to chip at them a little or swirl them around the glass til they fit in. you can let them melt or run water over them but what ive been doing is when filling the taper mug with water I dont fill it as high so the ice I get is from the skinnier part of the mug My time ive left in the freezer have been as short as 15hours-36hours with varying results. the temperature, the type of freezer, If there other things in the freezer, where you place it in the freezer all give different results. Ive been doing this for a few years now and feel like I always learn something new. What I have really love is people like you giving their feedback. I never knew how small the freezers were in England. I agree this would definitely be something fun to take a deeper dive into Thank you!!!
This makes so much sense I'm not sure why I've never thought about it this way. If you've ever tried to freeze water based liquids (like broth, tea, fruit juice, koolaid, etc.) the ice always turns into a gross mess where parts of the cube are almost clear, and other parts are where everything else that WAS in suspension is now concentrated.
@@justhaveadrink Exactly what I was thinking! Somehow real popsicles always managed to freeze perfectly and have the hard but soft texture. Just the right recipe and freezing conditions.
This technique is actually used by some baristas to make concentrated milk for some coffee drinks. Freeze it half way, throw away the ice and what is left is concentrated
@@michaelandersen7535 Come to think of it I've seen it as a technique for reducing maple sap to boil for syrup... Letting it partially freeze, taking out the water/ice, leaving behind more concentrated solution to boil.
I have a small apartment freezer so no room even for a small cooler. So I made one that fits out of a Tupperware type container and then surrounded it with styrofoam sheets (like the kind Ikea uses to protect their products.) Then duct taped the whole thing together. It works perfectly. 8 large cubes in 24 hours.
@@goldstrandjupp Leave it open. That's what allows for directional freezing. Also try placing it in different areas of your freezer. For some reason it works better on the lower shelf of my freezer than the top shelf.
Im not really someone who drinks (I don't like the taste of alcohol and i don't really drink it for a buzz) but this was a really informative video. You have a great personality and a wonderful voice
A friend of mine who used to sell hand made ice slurpies on the beach told me you should add a knife tip of salt per gallon of water you're freezing. I was told it makes the ice form slower, and thus more clear. I was also told the ice would be slightly softer and less brittle, making it easier to cut and shave. If you can taste it, you're using too much salt.
@@GetNatpavee salt and ice are weird. Salt water freezes slower and at a colder temp, table salt on ice does some weird science thing that does make it alot colder like so cold you can get frost burns from it. Youd have to look it up if you wanna know more cause idk how that works really
@@GetNatpavee Salt lowers the freezing temperature. (Using Celsius in the next bit because it's the scientific way) Ice starts to form at 0°C. It stays 0°C until the last part of the water is frozen solid. After that the ice can get colder. Adding Salt lowers the freezing temperatures. Depending on how much salt you use it's gets lower and lower. Now your ice will start to form under 0°C. Now you have salt water with a temperature of maybe - 5°C. The ice forms later, needing colder temperatures to form but if it forms it's colder.
@@QueenOfDarknes5 To tie back into Fahrenheit, 0F is the freezing point of a mixture of an equal quantity of salt and water. Since ice cream is best made at 0F, salt and ice mixed will get close to that temperature. So, the only good use for Fahrenheit is making ice cream.
I've been doing your method two every once in a while for about the past decade - it's great for a bar, but man is it ever a lot of work at home unless its for a really special occasion. For sure going to have a go at the 'lazy' method at home, that sir is pure genius!
Thank you!!! I enjoy using a cooler but I have to make room in the freezer, clear a work space, grab some tools, schedule some time. the lazy method I love because it's so effortless.
What an EXCELLENT video! Concise, useful information, and delivered with a light touch of humor. I’ve tried the first two methods, getting identical results to this video… with an entire kitchen cabinet full of insulated travel cups, the next thing I’ll do this morning is to repurpose several of them to making clear ice for my expensive bourbon collection (13 different brands thus far). Thank you!
been using the cooler method for years and I'm so mad at myself for not thinking of using one of the many insulated travel cups I have in my cupboard... Thank you!
Thank you! I thought the same thing when I figured it out. It came from necessity. I really wanted clear ice but didn’t have any room. I know other people had to figure it out but couldn’t find anything about it
I'm with you. Even though cutting up the block of ice from the cooler is sort of fun, it's also sort of not. I've let several weeks go by since I ran out, but knowing that I can begin making one or two at a time is a great stop-gap.
I used to work at an ice making plant years ago where I used to make and deliver 300lb blocks of ice for the fancier restaurants in town. The trick to getting clear blocks for us was to fill molds with well water, then place them into a pool of salt water. Then we'd insert a rod about 3' long into each mold and inject air into each mold. Let Them freeze for the next 4-5 days and then right before the center freezes we'd remove the rods and let them freeze solid. It was still challenging to get a really clear block and only about half were good enough for ice sculpting.
Thanks for the heads-up on the insulated tumbler method! Making some kind of rack to hold multiple tumblers together would prevent a single tumbler from accidentally falling over, might be a good idea.
Walmart sells a simple, plastic, ice bin. It's designed to hold up to four trays of ice cubes. This would probably hold three of four tumblers. I use mine to hold ice cubes, but it also has a few tomatoes in the bottom for making a fast sauce on a weeknight. It costs around $2.50.
Nice I like the mug method. I might be wrong, but I really don't think clear and cloudy ice has anything to do with water impurities, even though the internet usually says otherwise. It's because ice expands as it freezes, and unless you use the directional freezing method, it always freezes from the outside in. This creates an air bubble inside as the outer shell begins to freeze, and as it continues to freeze the expanding ice starts compressing that air bubble until eventually it cracks everything up. Idk that's my theory. Countertop ice makers also make clear ice, they use a bunch of super cooled metal rods submerged in water that the ice freezes around.
Thank you. Impurities are a factor but what you saying is right and water expands when it turns solid, it a violent reaction. the properties are water are extremely complicated and too much to put in this video. If you are interested I suggest starting off with super cooling. I was just trying to keep the context to people who would do this to easily make clear ice for cocktail. Most people I've come across in bars think you need to boil and use distilled water. If you do these method and dont let it freeze all the way you'll still end up with some cloudy ice. Countertop ice maker are similar to cline bell freezers use by many traditional icehouses. I never had consistent luck with them. like thanksgiving the first half came out clear then they started getting cloudy.
Alton Brown showed his method for making clear ice in an episode of Good Eats, but it was a complicated process that took multiple steps and containers over a couple of days. This way is so much easier! I'll definitely try this out next time I have guests over for cocktails.
I am a magician and I have spent a lot of time on ice, studying it quite extensively I hope to graduate one day to liquid nitrogen. Thank you for number 3 method. Now I know a quick one, I normally use method 2 and love shaping misshapen pieces with the leftovers, they look like jewels. My wife bought me a freezer strickly for ice for my magic. Well worth the effort, for any occasion and is amazing for drinks too.
I love magicians! You can do it, Liquid nitrogen is fun and easy but extremely dangerous to consume. Just the research. I’m working on the shaping. You’re wife sounds amazing btw
This is an awesome vid. For years I have wondered what the science is to make ice clear. Honestly I never pursued researching it I just assumed it would be costly but this is incredible. I whole heartedly appreciate that you explained the whys instead of just a a step by step vid. This is one one of topics that a lot of people wonder about but don't have a clue where to find the answers.
Dude, *excellent* marketing! I saw the preview and the pixelated "lazy" method. That got me to click the video. You asking nicely to watch because you could use the view-time got me to watch the whole thing. You explaining everything so clearly and quickly made it interesting. And the "piece of resistance" was a freaking COFFEE MUG?! In the military that would be called the "field expedient method". I agree with the commenter below about making these just in time for Thanksgiving! Subbed just from this video. Once again...great job!
@@WrenchingNLearning I had to go watch his video after your comment to have an idea of what you are talking about and I still don't. While with both talk about clear ice these videos are vastly different and I talk about something nobody else does. I even sighted my information. I Stole nothing from tipsy bartender. Im guessing you didn't watch my video because I refuse to believe anybody would be that stupid to wright the comment you did after watching both videos
@@WrenchingNLearning respectfully I talk about a lot he didn’t and he mentioned things I didn’t. If you are talking about directional freezing it’s been covered way before tipsy. Cocktail chemistry, educated barfly, how to drink, truffles on the rocks just to name a few that covered it before him. I have the highest respect for tipsy but we have to different styles. Watch his video where he covers what is the different types of alcohol. In it when covering scotch he talks about Nikki being “coffee” flavored which was totally incorrect it has to do with the type of still used. But I didn’t put anything hateful on his channel. Bartenders and people in general should be picking each other up and not putting them down. Especially with misinformation
I've done the cooler method for YEARS and tried method three last night. Just dumped it out and I'm amazed. It even fits perfectly in my rocks glass. This is WILD. I need to know the science of why it works lol.
I assume it’s what he said about directional cooling. The cold air from the freezer cools from the top of the ice so that the impurities fall onto the bottom of the ice. That’s why if you were to use a regular cup there would be no directional cooling and the impurities would just stick in the center again.
nice video :) you have a calm voice and dont talk around too much, just perfect. I knew everything execpt this trick at the end but still watched through everything because it was really nice to watch and listen :)
I have ZERO practical use for this knowledge since I don't drink and don't serve alcohol. Amazing video 10/10! No really, it kept me entertained, was interesting, and has info that I can share with people that might be useful for them. Really loving the editing and narration too!
Au contraire. The main purpose to clear ice is presentation. But the true benefit is the slow melting along with staying in one piece as it melts away because there is no air pockets to cause it to break down easily. This also lends to less dilution of your drink.
One important property of water that was omitted here was that water expands when it freezes. For normal ice cubes or ice blocks the last part to freeze is the middle. When that middle expands it deforms, cracks, and causes thousands of tiny bubbles that turn the ice milky. This is prevented by freezing from the top down. I had limited freezer space so I basically insulated the sides and bottoms of silicon ice cube mold and it works great. I like this thermal cup method too. I will try it.
Yea in hind sight I could have gone into more depth.This video got cut down to 5% of what it original was. When I covered started cover the "anomalous expansion of water" I knew I had to cut A LOT out. The focus of the video was for home who wanted to clear ice at home. If had people ask about stuff and just zone out half way through while getting overly detailed. The properties of water and ice are interesting and very complicated. It wasn't what the video was. Maybe one day in the future ill make a much longer detail version. A lot of people think distilled and hot water makes clear ice. I wanted to show all the people I've met and other like them that is was really easy. and I was hoping that they would be like you. Im sure you got curious did some hard digging and came up with the great solution you did.
@@Tugela60 That''s been a theory, although then if you boil the water first that will release all the gases. But even that doesn't result in clear ice without directional freezing. Same with purified water. Get the purest distilled water and it will not be clear with conventional ice cube trays.
I have studied chemistry, engineering, and material science and I have never thought to try an insulated cup over any of the typical methods. I'm excited by this thanks you!
This is quality content! I thought the ice chest method was the lazy method but then the ingenious method of doing it with a coffee mug came and I didn’t understand why I didn’t think of it before. Thanks for the tip! Will definitely try that out!
Yeah, the ice chest method really isn't the "lazy" method -- there's a lot of work involved. After pulling the chest out of the freezer and letting it rest for a good long time, you have to remove the block of ice, drain the water, chip away the shell of ice on top of the block, and then the real work begins. You have to score the ice block, chisel it apart with a knife and hammer, then cut the chunks again into smaller, usuable cubes, shape them, and then put them in the freezer. If done right, the results are _awesome,_ but it's a lot of time-consuming work.
I do the "ice chest" (we just call em coolers) method, but since I live in Canada, I only do it in winter, when I can just put it outside. Can use the biggest coolers they make! You're right, the insulation is a key part.
Last week, it got REALLY cold where I live. It was very unusual. I thought about leaving some water outside, but I don't trust the animals to stay away.
I remembered once looking up videos of ice sculptures and saw they used huge impeller pumps to keep the water moving and reverse osmosis systems to remove impurities. I always assumed you'd need to do something similar to get those kinds of results on a smaller scale. Thanks for sharing this!! I barely even make drinks with ice, but I might need to find some recipes just to have an excuse to give it a try 😉
I've heard of bars basically just filling 50qt coolers with water and putting them in their walk-in freezers to make enough clear ice for serving. Those fancy machines make it automatic, but aren't necessary by any means.
@dreamdiction it's not just impurities that make the ice cloudy. It's also the fact that as the ice tries to form, it needs room to expand and if all the water around it is already frozen, it will crystallize in formations that make it cloudy. Distilled water won't freeze clear if you don't combine it with some type of directional freezing method.
Impurities are definitely a factor. But the chief cause of white/cloudy ice is the speed at which the ice is frozen. Water freezes from the outside to the inside. When it freezes too quickly, it pushes the air bubbles to the inside where they don't have a chance to escape. Freezing more slowly eliminates most of that issue. Unfortunately, "slow freezing" is not what typical home freezers are made for.
I use a standard silicone ice try nested in a little box of insulation material I got from an Amazon delivery. I let the ice freeze completely solid; then I take it out and just use my asian cleaver to shave the cloudy part off the bottom. Shaving the cubes takes about 2 minutes for six large cubes. I end up with nice almost-cubes of crystal clear ice, and it takes about the same amount of time to make as regular ice.
I just bought that Styrofoam 4 ice ball maker yesterday haha. It's freezing my first batch since then so I'll open it tonight and see I guess? it says 24 - 30 hours though you said 36. I'm guessing trial and error will be involved here.
Nice! This came at just the right time. I'm prepping a Thanksgiving cocktail and wanted clear ice. We have a bunch of insulated coffee mugs that will be going in the freezer starting tonight.
There's one even more expensive version: the aluminum compression models. I used to work for a restaurant supply company and a a client was adding a bar to their stores and HAD to have this thing. You take a rough cube of the ice, then put it under this 12 pound weight -- the whole thing weight 24 pounds -- and it pressed it between two semi-sphere cavities. I think they were like $600 a piece.
That won't make the ice clear though, all it does is melt it into a sphere. Aluminum is very thermally conductive (it's good at absorbing and transferring heat) but it doesn't have that much capacity, so they use big blocks to have enough thermal mass to melt the ice piece into a shape before it gets to water's freezing point. It's like a much tamer and flipped version of putting a hot nickel ball on ice. The pressure would only help it melt at a lower temperature, this is how skates work. But like I said, it will not make your ice clear. Ice is a crystalline structure, you can't just compress it into a shape, it's not snow. You have to either shave it or melt it to shape it.
At work, we have large water flash distiller. It never ceases to amaze me when we will make ice from it in shallow tubs and pans how clear it is. No need to break it up though. The water takes a really long 3 or 4 days to freeze. The water needs to get super cold before it can freeze and then it flash freezes. Very white frost on top with clear ice with lots of stress fractures every inch roughly. Just drop a tub or pan of water on the counter and it just explodes into big chunks. Pick out the best looking chunks for select drinks and the rest for party ice stock. We usually get about 40% cosmetically clear chunks and 60% party ice
Honestlty the last one is such a simple and worthwhile way of making clear ice. I really hope your channel can get some more traction as well, you have a good voice, are a great voice, keep your audience entertained, and teach them new things. Great video :D
A friend posted that aldi was selling insulated cups at $4 each, about a day after I saw your video. It takes 20 hours in my freezer to freeze enough, and 3 hours in summer to defrost enough to remove from the cup, but I am very pleased with the result. Thankyou so much 🙂 Someone may be thinking that you've done some bar companies out of some business, but I've been working on a freely downloadable 3d-printed ice mold, so You've probably saved them money, since this is so easy compared to printing the mold and esky, and having to separate the shapes from the molds. I know of only one 3d-printed freely available clear ice mold, and finished upgrades for it about 3 days ago. I was preparing to test my new insulation design for it when I saw your video.
Love this. That was the ultimate hope. People would see how easy it is and come up with ideas like that. Bars have been using an ice chest for decades. Someone mentioned in the comments about a product their bar use that cost $400. It’s just an ice chest with a mold on top.
4:20 I’ve got the Houdini mold and it actually does a great job. Have never one time had an ice ball come out of it with cloudy spots like you show, and it cost something like $30 to buy and ship
You must be an employee, kidding. I’m glad it works for you. In all honesty I got it from target for $24 and it is the worst. This is my experience. I didn’t think it would work that great when I bought it. I tried all types of way to make it clear with poor results. That thing made the cloudiest ice, not a single one ever came out clear
@@justhaveadrink Lol, no, definitely not an employee 😆 In all seriousness though, had the thing for about a year, have made hundreds of ice spheres in it and have never had anything come out looking as bad as what you showed. Not sure what the difference is 🤷♂️ th-cam.com/video/Tn4s5YPSH4A/w-d-xo.html The spheres shown here are frosty on the outside, but once tempered or placed in a drink they become clear as glass. This has been my typical experience.
@@mmwosu ok that’ll make a difference. Yea yours are definitely better than mine.yours look clear. I’m glad yours works for you. Mine was really bad I messed around with it a bit got clearer results but in the end the amount of work and the results weren’t great for me. The purer the water the better, less air etc and the last bit one ice freezer slower separately will alway yield the best results. I’m going to get the thing to make the clear ice I want. Thank you for the video and the info and polite response
@@justhaveadrink It worked great. Getting the ice out was tricky, so I put a freezer proof zip lock bag inside the cup as a liner the second time which made it much easier. Another idea would be to put a straw in the water so that after most of it freezes, air can get in to break the suction.
I've always wanted to make clear ice and have watched a whole lot of these and they're either really complicated or not that helpful. I'm lazy. 😂😂😂 I have my insulated mug in the freezer right now. I'll let you know how I go - thanks for the tip. 👍👍👍
OMG - This takes the cake. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone pulls back the curtain to help reveal another Smoke-n-Mirrors Wizard. Thank you for this. Further, going to take my game up a notch, take your advice and invest in a water filter first, then make my ice cubes by using your "lazy way," method. LOLOL. You're brilliant. Thank you for this.
You laid it out simple. I may try method #2 for volume, but method #3 is looking so good. I have quite a few insulated coffee containers from office swag and such. I would like to suggest a video covering the difference between using a deep freeze vs a standard freezer for making cocktail ice. Slainte!
I use both methods #2 especially to get shape for collins glasses. I defiantly work on that idea! there was a bit I didn't cover in this video(ie use a mug that taper in towards the bottom a little), so it'll be a part 2. but if you have the space and extra freezer it a good idea to use a separate freezer for ice and food
@@justhaveadrink Having that sleek cylindrical plug that fits a collins or rocks glass is just so cool. Next party (probably Christmas or New Years) I have, I'm going to stockpile some nice clear cylinders to pour Scotch or Bourbon over. Low dilution, maximum chill, and WOW factor. Love your work!
I have tried all 3 methods and the one with the thermo mug worked best... but now I have tried where I have run the water through one of the water filter Pitcher you can buy and the result is great when the cup is frozen you can still see to the bottom of the mug . it doesn't cost much, I haven't tried the first two methods
Great style! Had me all the way to the end and subbed. If I can offer a tip regarding the lazy method. While it might seem obvious, it is important that the insulated cup has interior walls that are straight (some have a curve/bulge design, and that the diameter of the opening is not smaller than the bottom. If not, the ice won't release. I had never really thought about this until I did a bunch of cups for a party only to find that some would not release because the bottom (or part) of the ice block was always larger than the top. Cheers!
That’s what I thought too! 😂 I actually have some at home, and I have an ice machine with bullet ice cubes. Someone like this comment so I can update you when I do try it 😅
@farooqmohammed316 youre thinking of the super 99.99% pure water used to clean electronics. Distilled water shoukd pose no danger because its functionally the same as rain water
Thank you so much! I have been using the small cooler method with success, but only with filtered water. My tap water at least makes for cloudy ice, even after boiling and resting. Will try this, definitely a good idea. Cheers from Buenos Aires.
You’re being goofy. Connoisseurs of expensive whiskeys use ice and even water depending on the whiskey and personal preference. There are bottles that cost thousands, and even then it’s not worth drinking it if you’re not drinking it in the way you prefer.
I just put in my first attempt at the easy way. Your video was really enjoyable and I appreciate that you are knowledgeable, practical and willing to share your insight. Well done, and thanks for the video.
Thanks! After watching few videos suggesting to get the specific equipment or an ice chest and explaining mechanics I was like "but a themo cup should work in theory, why nobody mentions it?" Since I haven't got a cup, I tried DIY'ing it with two Ikea food containers and an aluminum foil, will see how it goes
This is brilliant! I've been using the esky method to make clear ice, but I have a small freezer so it's a bit of a pain. The insulated mug solution is so simple and obvious, but I never would have thought of it myself. Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad this got recommended to me. I've never had a reason to try making clear ice or to understand how it's made, but now I do! I learned something new, it makes total sense and that makes me really happy. Thanks for this video, subbed!:)
I use the the coffee mug method all the time now. To help get the water out a titanium chopstick on the side. I like the comment below that recommended using a thin silicon mat. I am going to try that tonight. I found you can put an ice mold in the water to make clear ice shapes. It was especially fun with my ice dice mold.
I use a non-insulated cup and let it freeze solid. The impurities get pushed to the center instead of down. So you have a tight center cylinder of impure ice with clear ice around it. As the pure water melts I drink it and dump it out when it gets to the center. This water is more pure than anything you can get from filtration or osmosis etc.
Most of anything I ever have is straight and "on the rocks" (as a family tradition) and THIS is exactly the info I needed. Plus your caution to consumerism comment at the end was enough to get a like and subscribe from me. Thank you, good Sir.
Finally a use for all those promotional insulated coffee metal mugs!
Right!!! I use ones from old jobs all the time
I hate that I just went through my cabinets and threw away a dozen of these.
Right!! Back in the old days, plastic water bottles used to fill up the landfills... Now everytime you go to an event, you get those goddamn mugs!! At least we've figured out a good way to put them to use!!
And they take a lot less freezer space than an ice chest.
@@JG-yk6ny Story of my life, generally!
I can't believe I watched almost nine minutes about how to make clear ice AND now having the wish to go ahead and do it. Very good teaching skills here, Sir. Thanks
😅I’m glad you enjoyed it and thank you very much!
I watched it and I don't even drink
@@TheRockinDonkeyyou can put it in soda juice or hell, w a t e r
I was so interested in how to make ice😂😂. Im going to use the coffee cip method.
I watched the whole clip because he was so nice and authentic in asking the viewer to. Great vid also.
Dude your the man. I had like 6 of these insulated cups building up in my cabinet and i used them all and now your method is the talk of the bar
I'm a professional and I did it couple of the easiest ways but never got to the lazy one. Thanks for this one, efortless for home bartending! 🍸
You're welcome!!!
The effortless home bar is the ideal. Funny how during the pandemic, non-bartenders stocked their homes with complicated things and routines in making drinks while I simply stirred with my finger and then decided to stop drinking altogether (for a bit) to make shrubs and sodas.
@@nopulpapple991 most of the time the best drink you can make is at home. Over 500 bars in my area and maybe 7 don’t use sweet and sour. Awesome with the shrubs and soda. I really like doing clarifyed punches at home
@@justhaveadrink I was always afraid of clarified punches, until I learned better ways to strain them. It just takes a little patience, but no harder than brewing coffee.
I have never met anyone that didn't like a clarified punch. The only negative is that it goes too fast.
@@nopulpapple991 first one I think I filter 5 times but now if gotten it down on the first go. Even did one in a place that was was not ideal.
My pic is of a clarified punch I call an adult pina colda I did for a friend who big into tiki
I watched the video all the way just as you asked and it was totally worth it! Thank you for showing and informing us viewers on how to make clear ice. I bought 2 different ice trays to make clear ice from Target and both failed. I tried using distilled water with them, checking the ice trays every other hour in hopes that I could get clear ice but failed miserably lol
Thank you!!! I wonder if it's the same one I got from target hahaha, never waste money again
I agree, me too!
The ONLY way to make clear ice is directional freezing, all the pro kit does it that way, the differences are in the format, with a Klinebell you get a giant block, with a kold draft you get cubes, but they both make the ice the same way physically, they use a chiller that is only on one side, completely different than the way your home freezer works. They also generally use moving water to keep things crystal clear, but as long as you "contain" your cold to one side at home you will be successful. It has nothing to do with boiling, or using distilled water, it is purely directional freezing.
@@gilbatzri should be "all the pro kits do it that way" , also who cares. You know less than this man on the way behind it.
You're just a person with money who does what they're told by the instructions of a thing someone built and you bought.
Content to never research and understand the entire concept and reproduce the same effect with your own knowledge.
Nope, just go buy stuff and then repeat back what you read about it and what you were told, that's nothing lol.
It was that science lesson that really explained it!
So... not sure if you will see this (the producer of this video)... but the concept of using the YETI cup (or other double-walled) was great! Chipping it out with the knife was quite a burden though depending on how much clear ice I wanted to do in one shot (24, 36, or 48hrs). HOWEVER, I found an additional hack to your hack which makes it even lazier.
I have a set of those oven safe silicone baking sheets... so I got the smallest one I had and rolled it up so that it fit perfectly inside the cup as a barrier. When I pulled the cup out (regardless of the time spend in the freezer) and let it set for the 15 min, all I had to do was grab the top of the baking sheet "tube" all at once and lightly twist and it broke free... every time! :)
I will! The knife is just use to slide between the ice and the wall of the tin to let air where the water is to release the seal.
Genius that sounds great!!!! I love hearing about other solutions people have come up with. I will give it a try
There are a lot of clear ice videos out there. This is one of the best because of the level of depth and detail. You've clearly put some time in and experimented. Great job!
Wow, thanks!
@@justhaveadrink Seriously, I went down the rabbit hole a few years ago and have even been trying (unsuccessfully) to make my own molds. Most videos never mention the tempering. Directional freezing was well explained. You even showed a ziploc bag and squeezed the air out for storage. If you use a vacuum sealer the clear ice will last indefinitely. This is the video I'll send next time someone asks me how I do it.
He ripped it from Jeremy Siers who did the exact same video three years ago.
@@silvermediastudio dont even know who that is
@@justhaveadrink You forgot already? Your video follows his 90% don't play.
There are nuances to the metal tumbler method that deserve to be explored. I've made 4-5 clear cubes with several different tumblers since watching this video.
First, I found that it needs to be a good quality/well insulated tumbler. My cheap give-away ones didn't have the insulating qualities to work well.
Second, I found that ~18 hours is the sweet spot. If you let it go completely frozen it takes forever to get the ice out.
Third, I had better success but putting a Koozie around the bottom of the tumbler to enhance the top-down freezing method.
Fourth, Do NOT use the tumblers with the threaded lids. You need to be sure there's a decent taper so that the ice will slide out after just a short thaw
Fifth, the shape is less than ideal for pretty much any application, you'll need to chip/shape it down to something more functional.
Lastly, I still found that some amount of trimming of the bottom is usually necessary.
That all said, it's a pretty easy option, just be sure to set an alarm for 18 hours after you put it in the freezer, trust me.
Yes. Now I found every insulated mug tamper a little in going towards the bottom has worked for me. Everybody situation has their own variables but that should work for almost everybody. The ones I use a cheap. I know they make some metal ones like at the dollar store that aren't really insulated and those won't work.
the blocks fitting into the glass that might not fit many peoples glasses. they fit some of my rocks glasses perfect like in the video. but in some of my rocks glass I do have to chip at them a little or swirl them around the glass til they fit in. you can let them melt or run water over them but what ive been doing is when filling the taper mug with water I dont fill it as high so the ice I get is from the skinnier part of the mug
My time ive left in the freezer have been as short as 15hours-36hours with varying results. the temperature, the type of freezer, If there other things in the freezer, where you place it in the freezer all give different results.
Ive been doing this for a few years now and feel like I always learn something new. What I have really love is people like you giving their feedback. I never knew how small the freezers were in England. I agree this would definitely be something fun to take a deeper dive into
Thank you!!!
Most people's freezers aren't gonna run at the same temperature. Take 18 as a guideline but it'll likely be more or less within a few hours range.
Koozie idea seems legit. :D
Koozie - it's like a sock tube for a drink can. Often made from neoprene type foam.
In Australia we call it a Stubbie Holder. (The stubbie being a bottle of beer). Obviously works for cans too
I’m infuriated by the simplicity and efficiency of the coffee cup method. Bravo sir, bravo
😂I think everybody feels the same. I know I did when I though of it
😢 now freeze this tear. jk
Only thing is it ruins yeti cups, I would guess all vac sealed cups. So use the 5$ or not vacuum sealed ones lol
This makes so much sense I'm not sure why I've never thought about it this way. If you've ever tried to freeze water based liquids (like broth, tea, fruit juice, koolaid, etc.) the ice always turns into a gross mess where parts of the cube are almost clear, and other parts are where everything else that WAS in suspension is now concentrated.
Yes! like making koolaid popsicle and all the flavor is concentrated in part of it!
@@justhaveadrink Exactly what I was thinking! Somehow real popsicles always managed to freeze perfectly and have the hard but soft texture. Just the right recipe and freezing conditions.
Without any knowledge or research they probably flash freeze them
This technique is actually used by some baristas to make concentrated milk for some coffee drinks. Freeze it half way, throw away the ice and what is left is concentrated
@@michaelandersen7535 Come to think of it I've seen it as a technique for reducing maple sap to boil for syrup... Letting it partially freeze, taking out the water/ice, leaving behind more concentrated solution to boil.
I have a small apartment freezer so no room even for a small cooler. So I made one that fits out of a Tupperware type container and then surrounded it with styrofoam sheets (like the kind Ikea uses to protect their products.) Then duct taped the whole thing together. It works perfectly. 8 large cubes in 24 hours.
that's a great way to make it customizable for any freezer
I really want to try the same thing: do you also cover the top or do you leave it open like with the mug in the video?
@@goldstrandjupp Leave it open. That's what allows for directional freezing. Also try placing it in different areas of your freezer. For some reason it works better on the lower shelf of my freezer than the top shelf.
@@danjackson5989 Will do! Thank you :)
I like this easyand lazy method. It also uses stuff i already owned and had laying around.th-cam.com/video/RWitzPjzIAk/w-d-xo.html
Im not really someone who drinks (I don't like the taste of alcohol and i don't really drink it for a buzz) but this was a really informative video. You have a great personality and a wonderful voice
A friend of mine who used to sell hand made ice slurpies on the beach told me you should add a knife tip of salt per gallon of water you're freezing.
I was told it makes the ice form slower, and thus more clear. I was also told the ice would be slightly softer and less brittle, making it easier to cut and shave.
If you can taste it, you're using too much salt.
This make me want homemade ice cream
I thought salt make ice freeze faster. I don’t remember who told me that
@@GetNatpavee salt and ice are weird. Salt water freezes slower and at a colder temp, table salt on ice does some weird science thing that does make it alot colder like so cold you can get frost burns from it. Youd have to look it up if you wanna know more cause idk how that works really
@@GetNatpavee
Salt lowers the freezing temperature.
(Using Celsius in the next bit because it's the scientific way)
Ice starts to form at 0°C. It stays 0°C until the last part of the water is frozen solid. After that the ice can get colder.
Adding Salt lowers the freezing temperatures.
Depending on how much salt you use it's gets lower and lower. Now your ice will start to form under 0°C. Now you have salt water with a temperature of maybe - 5°C.
The ice forms later, needing colder temperatures to form but if it forms it's colder.
@@QueenOfDarknes5 To tie back into Fahrenheit, 0F is the freezing point of a mixture of an equal quantity of salt and water. Since ice cream is best made at 0F, salt and ice mixed will get close to that temperature. So, the only good use for Fahrenheit is making ice cream.
I've been doing your method two every once in a while for about the past decade - it's great for a bar, but man is it ever a lot of work at home unless its for a really special occasion. For sure going to have a go at the 'lazy' method at home, that sir is pure genius!
Thank you!!! I enjoy using a cooler but I have to make room in the freezer, clear a work space, grab some tools, schedule some time. the lazy method I love because it's so effortless.
Wow this is the only cocktail channel that told me I don’t need the cooler and knife method! Those little travel mugs are everywhere
Glad I could help
What an EXCELLENT video! Concise, useful information, and delivered with a light touch of humor. I’ve tried the first two methods, getting identical results to this video… with an entire kitchen cabinet full of insulated travel cups, the next thing I’ll do this morning is to repurpose several of them to making clear ice for my expensive bourbon collection (13 different brands thus far). Thank you!
Thank you!!! have fun! I love using the lazy method every time I'm exploring a new bourbon. Enjoy yours and cheers
been using the cooler method for years and I'm so mad at myself for not thinking of using one of the many insulated travel cups I have in my cupboard... Thank you!
Thank you! I thought the same thing when I figured it out. It came from necessity. I really wanted clear ice but didn’t have any room. I know other people had to figure it out but couldn’t find anything about it
I'm with you. Even though cutting up the block of ice from the cooler is sort of fun, it's also sort of not. I've let several weeks go by since I ran out, but knowing that I can begin making one or two at a time is a great stop-gap.
I used to work at an ice making plant years ago where I used to make and deliver 300lb blocks of ice for the fancier restaurants in town. The trick to getting clear blocks for us was to fill molds with well water, then place them into a pool of salt water. Then we'd insert a rod about 3' long into each mold and inject air into each mold. Let Them freeze for the next 4-5 days and then right before the center freezes we'd remove the rods and let them freeze solid. It was still challenging to get a really clear block and only about half were good enough for ice sculpting.
Thanks for the heads-up on the insulated tumbler method! Making some kind of rack to hold multiple tumblers together would prevent a single tumbler from accidentally falling over, might be a good idea.
You're Welcome! That's a good idea
Walmart sells a simple, plastic, ice bin. It's designed to hold up to four trays of ice cubes. This would probably hold three of four tumblers. I use mine to hold ice cubes, but it also has a few tomatoes in the bottom for making a fast sauce on a weeknight. It costs around $2.50.
I bet a drink carrier from a fast food or coffee place would work perfectly.
Nice I like the mug method. I might be wrong, but I really don't think clear and cloudy ice has anything to do with water impurities, even though the internet usually says otherwise. It's because ice expands as it freezes, and unless you use the directional freezing method, it always freezes from the outside in. This creates an air bubble inside as the outer shell begins to freeze, and as it continues to freeze the expanding ice starts compressing that air bubble until eventually it cracks everything up. Idk that's my theory. Countertop ice makers also make clear ice, they use a bunch of super cooled metal rods submerged in water that the ice freezes around.
Thank you. Impurities are a factor but what you saying is right and water expands when it turns solid, it a violent reaction. the properties are water are extremely complicated and too much to put in this video. If you are interested I suggest starting off with super cooling. I was just trying to keep the context to people who would do this to easily make clear ice for cocktail. Most people I've come across in bars think you need to boil and use distilled water. If you do these method and dont let it freeze all the way you'll still end up with some cloudy ice. Countertop ice maker are similar to cline bell freezers use by many traditional icehouses. I never had consistent luck with them. like thanksgiving the first half came out clear then they started getting cloudy.
This makes perfect sense now, at first I wondered if it was just impurities, people would've just used distilled water
Alton Brown showed his method for making clear ice in an episode of Good Eats, but it was a complicated process that took multiple steps and containers over a couple of days. This way is so much easier! I'll definitely try this out next time I have guests over for cocktails.
Happy to have help!! this is the simplest ways I've done it. you can complicated it a bit to make specific shapes
I am a magician and I have spent a lot of time on ice, studying it quite extensively I hope to graduate one day to liquid nitrogen. Thank you for number 3 method. Now I know a quick one, I normally use method 2 and love shaping misshapen pieces with the leftovers, they look like jewels. My wife bought me a freezer strickly for ice for my magic. Well worth the effort, for any occasion and is amazing for drinks too.
I love magicians! You can do it, Liquid nitrogen is fun and easy but extremely dangerous to consume. Just the research. I’m working on the shaping. You’re wife sounds amazing btw
This is an awesome vid. For years I have wondered what the science is to make ice clear. Honestly I never pursued researching it I just assumed it would be costly but this is incredible. I whole heartedly appreciate that you explained the whys instead of just a a step by step vid. This is one one of topics that a lot of people wonder about but don't have a clue where to find the answers.
thank you im really happy you enjoyed it❤️
"Honestly"
Your personality in the tutorial video is as transparent as your final ice, that was a nice video bro thanks
Dude, *excellent* marketing! I saw the preview and the pixelated "lazy" method. That got me to click the video. You asking nicely to watch because you could use the view-time got me to watch the whole thing. You explaining everything so clearly and quickly made it interesting. And the "piece of resistance" was a freaking COFFEE MUG?! In the military that would be called the "field expedient method". I agree with the commenter below about making these just in time for Thanksgiving!
Subbed just from this video. Once again...great job!
Thank you very much 🙏 !!!! I drink A LOT of coffee and that’s my favorite mug
Damn he Litterly stole tipsy bartenders video and made a video with the exact same facts 💀🤣
@@WrenchingNLearning I had to go watch his video after your comment to have an idea of what you are talking about and I still don't. While with both talk about clear ice these videos are vastly different and I talk about something nobody else does. I even sighted my information. I Stole nothing from tipsy bartender. Im guessing you didn't watch my video because I refuse to believe anybody would be that stupid to wright the comment you did after watching both videos
@@justhaveadrink bro I said that cause everything was said on tipsy was said on here except the cup but I guess
@@WrenchingNLearning respectfully I talk about a lot he didn’t and he mentioned things I didn’t. If you are talking about directional freezing it’s been covered way before tipsy. Cocktail chemistry, educated barfly, how to drink, truffles on the rocks just to name a few that covered it before him. I have the highest respect for tipsy but we have to different styles. Watch his video where he covers what is the different types of alcohol. In it when covering scotch he talks about Nikki being “coffee” flavored which was totally incorrect it has to do with the type of still used. But I didn’t put anything hateful on his channel. Bartenders and people in general should be picking each other up and not putting them down. Especially with misinformation
I've done the cooler method for YEARS and tried method three last night. Just dumped it out and I'm amazed. It even fits perfectly in my rocks glass. This is WILD. I need to know the science of why it works lol.
I assume it’s what he said about directional cooling. The cold air from the freezer cools from the top of the ice so that the impurities fall onto the bottom of the ice. That’s why if you were to use a regular cup there would be no directional cooling and the impurities would just stick in the center again.
nice video :)
you have a calm voice and dont talk around too much, just perfect. I knew everything execpt this trick at the end but still watched through everything because it was really nice to watch and listen :)
I have ZERO practical use for this knowledge since I don't drink and don't serve alcohol.
Amazing video 10/10!
No really, it kept me entertained, was interesting, and has info that I can share with people that might be useful for them. Really loving the editing and narration too!
❤️👍🏼🙏 thank you very much!
same
It’s a neat party trick to bring tho.
Nothing says you can't fancy-up your iced tea with clear ice.
Au contraire. The main purpose to clear ice is presentation. But the true benefit is the slow melting along with staying in one piece as it melts away because there is no air pockets to cause it to break down easily. This also lends to less dilution of your drink.
As someone who previously had no experience making ice for cocktails, this video is perfect for me! Thank you very much!
You are so welcome! Im glad you enjoy!!
I watch this while going to bed. Calming and informative
One important property of water that was omitted here was that water expands when it freezes. For normal ice cubes or ice blocks the last part to freeze is the middle. When that middle expands it deforms, cracks, and causes thousands of tiny bubbles that turn the ice milky. This is prevented by freezing from the top down. I had limited freezer space so I basically insulated the sides and bottoms of silicon ice cube mold and it works great. I like this thermal cup method too. I will try it.
The bubbles are caused by gas dissolved in the water coming out of solution when it freezes.
Yea in hind sight I could have gone into more depth.This video got cut down to 5% of what it original was. When I covered started cover the "anomalous expansion of water" I knew I had to cut A LOT out. The focus of the video was for home who wanted to clear ice at home. If had people ask about stuff and just zone out half way through while getting overly detailed. The properties of water and ice are interesting and very complicated. It wasn't what the video was. Maybe one day in the future ill make a much longer detail version. A lot of people think distilled and hot water makes clear ice. I wanted to show all the people I've met and other like them that is was really easy. and I was hoping that they would be like you. Im sure you got curious did some hard digging and came up with the great solution you did.
This has always been my theory!
@@Tugela60 That''s been a theory, although then if you boil the water first that will release all the gases. But even that doesn't result in clear ice without directional freezing. Same with purified water. Get the purest distilled water and it will not be clear with conventional ice cube trays.
@@hemlock40 Those are the cracks. The bubbles you see in ice are from gas comming out of solution.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR ADVICE! 😭😭😭BLESS YOUUU!!
Glad it helped!
I have studied chemistry, engineering, and material science and I have never thought to try an insulated cup over any of the typical methods. I'm excited by this thanks you!
😅thank you I had a need and some free time
This is quality content! I thought the ice chest method was the lazy method but then the ingenious method of doing it with a coffee mug came and I didn’t understand why I didn’t think of it before. Thanks for the tip! Will definitely try that out!
Yeah, the ice chest method really isn't the "lazy" method -- there's a lot of work involved.
After pulling the chest out of the freezer and letting it rest for a good long time, you have to remove the block of ice, drain the water, chip away the shell of ice on top of the block, and then the real work begins.
You have to score the ice block, chisel it apart with a knife and hammer, then cut the chunks again into smaller, usuable cubes, shape them, and then put them in the freezer.
If done right, the results are _awesome,_ but it's a lot of time-consuming work.
@Milesco
Exactly.
I'm thinking if that's the lazy way, then I don't really need clear ice anyway.
I do the "ice chest" (we just call em coolers) method, but since I live in Canada, I only do it in winter, when I can just put it outside. Can use the biggest coolers they make! You're right, the insulation is a key part.
Im jealous of that. It never gets cold enough to do that where I live
Last week, it got REALLY cold where I live. It was very unusual. I thought about leaving some water outside, but I don't trust the animals to stay away.
@@dontcallmehowie Nothing wrong with fresh-frozen mice-cubes!
That's a real game-changer! Perfect for home bars. Can't wait to try this method.
I remembered once looking up videos of ice sculptures and saw they used huge impeller pumps to keep the water moving and reverse osmosis systems to remove impurities. I always assumed you'd need to do something similar to get those kinds of results on a smaller scale. Thanks for sharing this!! I barely even make drinks with ice, but I might need to find some recipes just to have an excuse to give it a try 😉
There’s a few ways this to me is the cheapest and easiest. Even though you don’t use ice often, if you get bored give it a shot if does look cool
There are no impurities in distilled water,
I've heard of bars basically just filling 50qt coolers with water and putting them in their walk-in freezers to make enough clear ice for serving. Those fancy machines make it automatic, but aren't necessary by any means.
@dreamdiction it's not just impurities that make the ice cloudy. It's also the fact that as the ice tries to form, it needs room to expand and if all the water around it is already frozen, it will crystallize in formations that make it cloudy. Distilled water won't freeze clear if you don't combine it with some type of directional freezing method.
Impurities are definitely a factor. But the chief cause of white/cloudy ice is the speed at which the ice is frozen. Water freezes from the outside to the inside. When it freezes too quickly, it pushes the air bubbles to the inside where they don't have a chance to escape. Freezing more slowly eliminates most of that issue. Unfortunately, "slow freezing" is not what typical home freezers are made for.
yes
Y si primero enfrias el agua de a poco y luego la metes a congelar?
Thank you algorithm for showing me this wonderful channel
Glad you enjoy it!
Brilliant, crystal clear, and completely transparent. Oh, and the ice is cool too.
Hahaha👍
Fantastic video! Love your factual, easy-going delivery style. Thanks for the hard work and info!
thank you! Im glad you enjoyed it!
I use a standard silicone ice try nested in a little box of insulation material I got from an Amazon delivery. I let the ice freeze completely solid; then I take it out and just use my asian cleaver to shave the cloudy part off the bottom. Shaving the cubes takes about 2 minutes for six large cubes. I end up with nice almost-cubes of crystal clear ice, and it takes about the same amount of time to make as regular ice.
I just bought that Styrofoam 4 ice ball maker yesterday haha. It's freezing my first batch since then so I'll open it tonight and see I guess? it says 24 - 30 hours though you said 36. I'm guessing trial and error will be involved here.
Nice! This came at just the right time. I'm prepping a Thanksgiving cocktail and wanted clear ice. We have a bunch of insulated coffee mugs that will be going in the freezer starting tonight.
Awesome!!! Happy thanksgiving 🦃
I really enjoyed listening to your voice. Smooth, clear, concise, and even humorous. Good video with good information.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙏 thank you
There's one even more expensive version: the aluminum compression models. I used to work for a restaurant supply company and a a client was adding a bar to their stores and HAD to have this thing. You take a rough cube of the ice, then put it under this 12 pound weight -- the whole thing weight 24 pounds -- and it pressed it between two semi-sphere cavities. I think they were like $600 a piece.
those aluminum ice presses are EXPENSIVE! I secretly want one to play with. I had one at a job also and spent a lot of time playing with it😅
That won't make the ice clear though, all it does is melt it into a sphere. Aluminum is very thermally conductive (it's good at absorbing and transferring heat) but it doesn't have that much capacity, so they use big blocks to have enough thermal mass to melt the ice piece into a shape before it gets to water's freezing point. It's like a much tamer and flipped version of putting a hot nickel ball on ice. The pressure would only help it melt at a lower temperature, this is how skates work.
But like I said, it will not make your ice clear. Ice is a crystalline structure, you can't just compress it into a shape, it's not snow. You have to either shave it or melt it to shape it.
This is way simpler than other ice making videos I have watched, thanks for saving me time. I left a like for ya.
Thanks for liking
At work, we have large water flash distiller. It never ceases to amaze me when we will make ice from it in shallow tubs and pans how clear it is. No need to break it up though. The water takes a really long 3 or 4 days to freeze. The water needs to get super cold before it can freeze and then it flash freezes. Very white frost on top with clear ice with lots of stress fractures every inch roughly. Just drop a tub or pan of water on the counter and it just explodes into big chunks. Pick out the best looking chunks for select drinks and the rest for party ice stock. We usually get about 40% cosmetically clear chunks and 60% party ice
15K subscribers, and three million views - you are doing something right.
Came back to say this totally works. Thank you! I definitely don't have the freezer space for an ice chest.
Thanks for letting me know. And I definitely feel your paid about a lack of freezer room
Idk why this popped up in my recommended but I'm glad it did.
Honestlty the last one is such a simple and worthwhile way of making clear ice. I really hope your channel can get some more traction as well, you have a good voice, are a great voice, keep your audience entertained, and teach them new things. Great video :D
Thank you and I’ll definitely try
I don't even drink..i just like clear ice 😂
A friend posted that aldi was selling insulated cups at $4 each, about a day after I saw your video. It takes 20 hours in my freezer to freeze enough, and 3 hours in summer to defrost enough to remove from the cup, but I am very pleased with the result. Thankyou so much 🙂
Someone may be thinking that you've done some bar companies out of some business, but I've been working on a freely downloadable 3d-printed ice mold, so You've probably saved them money, since this is so easy compared to printing the mold and esky, and having to separate the shapes from the molds.
I know of only one 3d-printed freely available clear ice mold, and finished upgrades for it about 3 days ago. I was preparing to test my new insulation design for it when I saw your video.
Love this. That was the ultimate hope. People would see how easy it is and come up with ideas like that. Bars have been using an ice chest for decades. Someone mentioned in the comments about a product their bar use that cost $400. It’s just an ice chest with a mold on top.
Been looking for something like this! Genius and so simple it seems too obvious haha. Will be trying it for my next drink! Thanks!
Awesome and thank you! I hope you freezer fills with clear ice. Enjoy your next drink!
4:20 I’ve got the Houdini mold and it actually does a great job. Have never one time had an ice ball come out of it with cloudy spots like you show, and it cost something like $30 to buy and ship
You must be an employee, kidding. I’m glad it works for you. In all honesty I got it from target for $24 and it is the worst. This is my experience. I didn’t think it would work that great when I bought it. I tried all types of way to make it clear with poor results. That thing made the cloudiest ice, not a single one ever came out clear
@@justhaveadrink
Lol, no, definitely not an employee 😆
In all seriousness though, had the thing for about a year, have made hundreds of ice spheres in it and have never had anything come out looking as bad as what you showed. Not sure what the difference is 🤷♂️
th-cam.com/video/Tn4s5YPSH4A/w-d-xo.html
The spheres shown here are frosty on the outside, but once tempered or placed in a drink they become clear as glass. This has been my typical experience.
@@justhaveadrink
I do fill it with water from a reverse osmosis, so that definitely could be a difference
@@mmwosu ok that’ll make a difference. Yea yours are definitely better than mine.yours look clear. I’m glad yours works for you. Mine was really bad I messed around with it a bit got clearer results but in the end the amount of work and the results weren’t great for me. The purer the water the better, less air etc and the last bit one ice freezer slower separately will alway yield the best results. I’m going to get the thing to make the clear ice I want. Thank you for the video and the info and polite response
@@justhaveadrink
No problem, and thank you for the video and the interaction, and Merry Christmas!
Mind. Blown. I've been using method 2 for a couple of years. Gonna try method 3 right now! Thanks.
Fantastic!
@@justhaveadrink It worked great. Getting the ice out was tricky, so I put a freezer proof zip lock bag inside the cup as a liner the second time which made it much easier. Another idea would be to put a straw in the water so that after most of it freezes, air can get in to break the suction.
i predict your channel is gonna grow! Great pacing, talking skills and content. Love the 3rd method! (i wont spoil it!)
THANK YOU! that truly means a lot!
I saw your comment and had to double check because I assumed the channel would have well over a million already. Proud to be # 198. Quality on point!
@@kageryu7 I wish hahaha. Just started the channel. Most of the time the best cocktails are the ones you make at home
Am I the only one who felt chills go down my spine at 7:04?
No. Other did also
I've always wanted to make clear ice and have watched a whole lot of these and they're either really complicated or not that helpful.
I'm lazy. 😂😂😂 I have my insulated mug in the freezer right now.
I'll let you know how I go - thanks for the tip. 👍👍👍
OMG - This takes the cake. Just when you think you've seen it all, someone pulls back the curtain to help reveal another Smoke-n-Mirrors Wizard. Thank you for this. Further, going to take my game up a notch, take your advice and invest in a water filter first, then make my ice cubes by using your "lazy way," method. LOLOL. You're brilliant. Thank you for this.
😂 happy to help
You laid it out simple. I may try method #2 for volume, but method #3 is looking so good. I have quite a few insulated coffee containers from office swag and such. I would like to suggest a video covering the difference between using a deep freeze vs a standard freezer for making cocktail ice. Slainte!
I use both methods #2 especially to get shape for collins glasses. I defiantly work on that idea! there was a bit I didn't cover in this video(ie use a mug that taper in towards the bottom a little), so it'll be a part 2. but if you have the space and extra freezer it a good idea to use a separate freezer for ice and food
@@justhaveadrink Having that sleek cylindrical plug that fits a collins or rocks glass is just so cool. Next party (probably Christmas or New Years) I have, I'm going to stockpile some nice clear cylinders to pour Scotch or Bourbon over. Low dilution, maximum chill, and WOW factor. Love your work!
I have tried all 3 methods and the one with the thermo mug worked best... but now I have tried where I have run the water through one of the water filter Pitcher you can buy and the result is great when the cup is frozen you can still see to the bottom of the mug . it doesn't cost much, I haven't tried the first two methods
Great style! Had me all the way to the end and subbed. If I can offer a tip regarding the lazy method. While it might seem obvious, it is important that the insulated cup has interior walls that are straight (some have a curve/bulge design, and that the diameter of the opening is not smaller than the bottom. If not, the ice won't release. I had never really thought about this until I did a bunch of cups for a party only to find that some would not release because the bottom (or part) of the ice block was always larger than the top. Cheers!
Thank you and very right! I’ve done them in the really large one and had issues. The best are the ones that taper down a little towards the bottom
How about using distilled water? No impurities.
That’s what I thought too! 😂 I actually have some at home, and I have an ice machine with bullet ice cubes. Someone like this comment so I can update you when I do try it 😅
They are dangerous to consume I think
@farooqmohammed316 youre thinking of the super 99.99% pure water used to clean electronics. Distilled water shoukd pose no danger because its functionally the same as rain water
Not sure why this was recommended to me but happy to have the info. Thanks
welcome! glad you enjoyed!
Starts at 2:20
4:45 is where he begins to explain
Thank you so much! I have been using the small cooler method with success, but only with filtered water. My tap water at least makes for cloudy ice, even after boiling and resting. Will try this, definitely a good idea. Cheers from Buenos Aires.
Happy to help!!! 🥂cheers!
1:37 if you're having a one hundred bottle of whiskey you better not be having any ice in there ffs
You’re being goofy. Connoisseurs of expensive whiskeys use ice and even water depending on the whiskey and personal preference. There are bottles that cost thousands, and even then it’s not worth drinking it if you’re not drinking it in the way you prefer.
L take
takes 25 seconds to explain to the kids, makes a 8:56 long video :P
they are quick learners
I've seen other videos on clear ice, this explains both how and why, better than any I have seen. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful! Welcome!
So howto do it starts @5:06 🙄
Sorry, dude, but you lost me at "sPears" . . .
"A" for effort!
Great video. Thank you. Ima try the lazy method tomorrow!
I’ve seen similar things. Tried it. Works well. I learned all this after I put my drinking behind me but it does work nicely. Science can be helpful.
Perfect!!! No more cloudy ice in my old fashions.
I just put in my first attempt at the easy way. Your video was really enjoyable and I appreciate that you are knowledgeable, practical and willing to share your insight. Well done, and thanks for the video.
Thanks!
After watching few videos suggesting to get the specific equipment or an ice chest and explaining mechanics I was like "but a themo cup should work in theory, why nobody mentions it?"
Since I haven't got a cup, I tried DIY'ing it with two Ikea food containers and an aluminum foil, will see how it goes
Welcome! Perfect don't always have to buy expensive equipment understanding how some things work you can come up with some creative ideas
Thank you for making this. Making proper clear ice has been on the to do list for a very long time.
This is brilliant! I've been using the esky method to make clear ice, but I have a small freezer so it's a bit of a pain. The insulated mug solution is so simple and obvious, but I never would have thought of it myself. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to help👍. I struggle with the same problem
Thanks so much for this video! I was about to buy a clear ice mold then tried your Yeti cup solution. You just saved me $50!
awesome glad I could help!!!!
this was probably the most informational video i have watched today. thank you!
You are so welcome!
I am so glad this got recommended to me. I've never had a reason to try making clear ice or to understand how it's made, but now I do! I learned something new, it makes total sense and that makes me really happy. Thanks for this video, subbed!:)
Glad it was helpful!
This works perfectly. Enjoying a Chili Cherry Margarita right now made with crystal clear, lazy ice.
I saved this to my playlist called Cool 😎
I've used the cooler method before. Cheap serrated knife worked well for me.
I'm excited to try the lazy method.
Enjoy! I like using both methods
I use the the coffee mug method all the time now. To help get the water out a titanium chopstick on the side. I like the comment below that recommended using a thin silicon mat. I am going to try that tonight.
I found you can put an ice mold in the water to make clear ice shapes. It was especially fun with my ice dice mold.
Fantastic purification process.
Ah that first ice cube was revolutionary! This does only make one at a time but it makes 2 a day if you keep active! Thank you so much!!
Welcome!!! Enjoy!!!
Excellent presentation. Looking forward to watching and learning more.
Dude thank you! I am kicking myself learning how easy this is after having done the cooler method a few times.
You are very welcome. I know the feeling
Thanks! About to use method 3, will post my results :)
I use a non-insulated cup and let it freeze solid. The impurities get pushed to the center instead of down. So you have a tight center cylinder of impure ice with clear ice around it. As the pure water melts I drink it and dump it out when it gets to the center. This water is more pure than anything you can get from filtration or osmosis etc.
Great video and good tips! Watched the whole thing instead of skipping to the end (just for you) :) CHEERS!
Thanks Dude!
Most of anything I ever have is straight and "on the rocks" (as a family tradition) and THIS is exactly the info I needed. Plus your caution to consumerism comment at the end was enough to get a like and subscribe from me. Thank you, good Sir.
Thank you good sir! I’m glad you liked it!
Best video on ice ever!! Quick, easy, cheap and so very well explained.
THANKS!!
Thank you! The "Lazy" method is ingenious!
🙏🏼
Awesome. I was just having this conversation with my siblings. We were arguing about the small igloo method. I LOVE this method even more. Thanks!
Enjoy!!! I hope you won the argument 😅