At BarChef in Toronto, ice for cocktails is chipped from a huge cylindrical block that rests on top of the counter.J.P. MOCZULSKI
"Ice is the equivalent to a stove for a chef," says Peter Chase, who owns two bars in Montreal. One uses heat, and the other cold, he adds, but both change every aspect of the final product.
If that seems hyperbole for what is essentially frozen water, consider how many bars have introduced myriad ice products.
At Montreal's Wunderbar, owned by Mr. Chase, there are three varieties of the frozen stuff, depending on the cocktail. Toronto's Sidecar Bar and Grill ups the ante, using four. At The Martini Club, a Toronto-based beverage consultant, the private bar serves seven sorts, some crystal clear and others with edible flowers inside. The Vancouver restaurant Lumière recently installed a special ice maker, which produces larger, denser, cubes than your run-of-the-mill machine.
So why fuss about ice? It's not just about temperature: It affects a drink's taste, appearance and texture, Mr. Chase explains.
Crushed ice is de rigueur for refreshing drinks that need dilution, such as the mint juleps at Sidecar. The pieces melt quickly, adding extra water to the drink.They're broken with a mallet, and the misshapen sizes add a rustic texture to the southern cocktail.
By contrast, the bar serves its bourbon-based old fashioned with dense, five-centimetre-square cubes. Made with distilled water in a Plexiglas mould, they are designed to melt slowly. "If you used regular ice," explains Casey Bee, co-owner of Sidecar, "the old fashioned would get too watered down."
The temperature affects how the drink feels, by numbing the taste buds. Cooler temperatures can smooth an average liquor by rounding its edges, Mr. Bee says. "When you really chill it, the harsh aspects of the spirit are dampened and it brings out the subtleties."
At Toronto's BarChef, a 50-centimetre cylindrical ice slab forms the centrepiece of a counter covered with glasses of fresh-cut herbs and jars of bitters. The block is lit from below, and drinks are served with hand-chipped, jagged shards. "We wanted to return to the way cocktails used to be made before prohibition," explains Brent VanderVeen, an owner of the bar. "This was the way it was done in the 18th century. And it looks better - it's like a piece of art."
Taste matters, but sound also influences how we experience the cocktail: It's hard to imagine a gin and tonic without the customary ice-cube clink. Cubes rattle nicely for most cocktails, but if you want a quieter drink, Mr. Chase recommends one large ice ball. The rounds shrink more slowly, so they are better for leisurely drinks that you shouldn't dilute, such as an expensive Scotch.
Jamie Boudreau, a Canadian bar director now working at TiniBigs Lounge in Seattle, makes spheres, cubes, elliptical sticks and hand-cracked ice, depending on the occasion. Mr. Boudreau's sticks and spheres are particularly large, filling the glass.
"They are good for a high-end liquor," he explains, "because they cool it right down."
Iceculture Inc., based in Hensall, Ont., recently started selling large frozen balls to distributors across North America. Mechanically cut from ice blocks, they aren't cheap at $1.25 a pop. "They sit nicely in the glass, and the liquid, like a good Scotch, flows around the large ball," explains Julian Bayley, the company's founder.
Cocktails need to look good, too: A whitish cube might seem perfectly reasonable at home, but many bars and restaurants go to great lengths to make ice crystal clear. Opaque parts come from impurities and air bubbles that turn white when frozen, Mr. Bee explains. Transparent ice is really dense, but it's difficult to make without an expensive machine.
Cameron Bogue, the manager at Lumière and DB Bistro Moderne, swears by his Kold-Draft ice maker: It was one of the conditions for signing on when he first got his job. The Kold-Draft eliminates trapped air by circulating the water and freezing it in layers. "The cubes are perfectly square and clear," Mr. Bogue says. "You can shake the hell out of them and they don't crack or break."
Making a completely clear cube is easy with the right equipment, but at home it's a lot of work. For special occasions and photo shoots, Mr. Bogue spends days making his own ice cubes so that they look perfect. Made from distilled water, they're twice boiled and frozen to remove any gaseous bubbles. It's a lengthy process, taking a full day per batch, he explains. "I'm really picky."
If multiple freeze-thaw-boiling seems too arduous for home dining, there are other options for good-looking ice, says Laura Panter, founder of The Martini Club. At home, she spices up her ice cubes with berries and edible flowers, adding them as the water freezes. She's received many compliments from friends, and some have started spiking their own ice cubes when they entertain.
"For a long time people ignored ice," Ms. Panter says. "But as mixology and bar culture get more sophisticated, people are starting to pay attention to every minute detail that goes into a cocktail. And we've found you can really make a big difference with ice."
Special to The Globe and Mail