Booze You Can Use

Ice Expert: Fancy Ice Is Just a Ploy to Make You Drink More

Ice, ice baby
Ice, ice baby Photo: Courtesy of: Névé Ice

The amount of attention today’s bartenders devote to ice comes off as being between an obsession and a fetish. Still, there’s something to it: Large ice blocks and those flawless frosty spheres used to chill drinks at trendy cocktail bars do indeed melt slower and dilute booze less than regular ol’ cubes from the refrigerator ice machine. And it certainly adds a little bit of extra drama to the magic and mystique of the cocktail ritual. But based on comments from Michel Dozois, the brains behind L.A.’s Névé Luxury Ice Company, it’s also just a ploy to make people drink more. “If it dilutes less, it will take you less time to drink what’s in the glass, and the bar will make more sales,” L.A.’s king of luxury ice told the magazine. It reminds us of an old Eskimo proverb: You never know your friends from your enemies until the ice breaks. [Atlantic]

Ice Expert: Fancy Ice Is Just a Ploy to Make You Drink More