Refined Rocks

Inside one drinker's quest to master the science of crystal-clear ice at home.

- CAMPER ENGLISH

MOST CONSUMERS don't think twice about ice. But I'm something of an “icepert” and I'm not ashamed to admit I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to make perfectly clear ice at home for choice cocktails.

How did I get here? Well, I started writing about the burgeoning craft cocktail scene developing in San Francisco—and the rest of the country—in the early 2000s. Bartenders sourced their cocktail ice from 300-pound blocks destined to be carved into swans and other decorative sculptures for weddings, cruise ships, and elaborate corporate events.

Armed with saws, chisels, and picks, they turned these small icebergs into immaculate cubes, spears, and spheres.

When I bellied up to a bar, of course I enjoyed the Negroni, old-fashioned, or highball being served, but I was equally transfixed by the glass-like clarity of the ice. At home, my freezer could only make feeble trays of cloudy, fragile cubes that would crumble in a shaker or melt quickly in a glass.

There had to be a way to make high-quality ice at home.

I wasn't the only one trying to crack the code. Others were trying a few different techniques to filter out impurities and remove air from the water before freezing. These methods were partially effective at best and futile at worst.