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Casa Dragones
  • Sipping Tequilas
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      Casa Dragones Joven
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      Casa Dragones Barrel Blend
    • Casa Dragones Blanco
      Casa Dragones Blanco
  • Craftsmanship
    • Small Batch
      Small Batch
    • Modern Process
      Modern Process
    • Mexican Craftsmanship
      Mexican Craftsmanship
    • Tequila Terroir
      Tequila Terroir
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      The Harvest
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      Volcanic Soil
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      A Journey of Taste
    • An Exploration of Wood
      An Exploration of Wood
  • San Miguel de Allende
    • Our Spiritual Home
      Our Spiritual Home
    • Visit La Casa Dragones
      Visit La Casa Dragones
    • Casa Dragones Tasting Room
      Casa Dragones Tasting Room
    • Story of Los Dragones
      Story of Los Dragones
    • The History
      The History
  • How To Serve
    • Serving Suggestions
      Serving Suggestions
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      Select Chef Pairings
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      Tequila Cocktails
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      #DragonesRocks
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Creating Ice For Tequila Drinks
Jun 18, 2015
Casa Dragones Blanco

The Importance of Ice – Part 2

By Jim Meehan, mixologist, James Beard award winner

In Japan, ice is delivered in blocks and cut by hand before service: commercial ice makers are seldom employed in bars. Each piece is transferred from a freezer to a hinoki wood bowl to allow it to temper (warm up so it doesn’t crack when it’s combined with room temperature liquids) and defrost before service. Cocktails and spirits (mainly whisky) are served over hand-carved spheres, crystal clear cubes, and even diamonds in traditional cocktail bars.

Following in the footsteps of Japanese bartenders who’ve mopped up international cocktail competitions and garnered thousands of views on YouTube, dozens of bars across the U.S. have invested in Clinebell ice machines, which ice sculptors rely on to produce large clear blocks of ice to cut down into cubes and spears for long drinks. Besides their jewel-like beauty, clear blocks of ice melt more slowly than cloudy ice so you can savor your drink before dilution claims it’s character.

In the video, you’ll see second-generation ice sculptor Shintaro Okamoto breaking down 300 pound blocks of ice into clear cubes, spears and spheres for local bars and restaurants such as PDT and Gramercy Tavern. Don Lee, who founded the bar program at Momofuku, urged Okamoto to develop a service for bars back in 2009, and clear ice has become standard in top cocktail bars in New York City ever since.

Most of us lack the time, space and resources that the countries top cocktail bars and ice studios have allocated for ice, but fret not: you can make nearly perfect ice at home. Online stores and shops dedicated to cocktails, such as Cocktail Kingdom, sell molds for cubes, spears and spheres, along with tappers, mallets, ice bags and picks to prepare pro-quality ice for drinks in your home.

Stay tuned for the last installment of James Beard award winning mixologist Jim Meehan’s The Importance of Ice.

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