Mark Alvarez is, next to Simone Caporalehalf of the tandem of the Barcelona cocktail bar Sips (C/ de Muntaner, 108), the third best cocktail bar in the world according to The World’s 50 Best Barsa reference in the world of bars and bars that now also lands in Madrid inside the Urban hotel with Glass by Sipswhere some of his greatest hits will arrive.
It is there where we find Marc Álvarez, one of the apostles of the new mixologyand from whom we steal a few minutes between cocktails to tell us how we usually mistreat the ice in our glasses or, now that New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, to tell us how to keep the ice, how to do it at home or when knowing that there is an ice that should pass to a better life.
Beyond the myths of gas station ice, Marc Álvarez tells us which ice to use at homewhy we should not scratch with our glasses, what is the reason why the drinks begin to water down or, sometimes, why less temperature is not the best solution to guarantee the quality of the ice.
The truth is that it is sad that we spend a lot of money on a good distillate and then let’s go to those ice dead with laughter that we have had in the freezer for four months or, even worse, those archaic ice cube trays that barely hold a couple of drinks.
So, let’s see, if we want ensure good drinks on New Year’s Evewhat Marc Álvarez recommends that we do:
If we want to make good homemade ice, what kind of water should we use?
You have to use demineralized water or water with little dry residue, it is ideal for the ice to maintain its structure and temperature stabilizing power. The best thing is to be able to use the purest water possible, if it is osmotized it is much better.
for drinks on the rocks at home and for domestic combinations. Is there any format of ice by size that is especially valid or recommended? Better a round ice or a square ice? Better one or two large-format ice cubes than many small ones?
For home, the ideal is to find a supermarket that has medium-weight ice of about 32 to 40 grams maximum, since in this way we will ensure that there is a compromise between its power to cool and its ability to keep the temperature stable and don’t dilute too much. If we have the possibility of having larger ice in the form of a perfect block, as long as we know that it is a type of ice that only serves to maintain liquids that are already at a low temperature.
In the event that the typical frost has been generated on the ice, what do we do with it?
Ice is often poorly preserved, I mean that the lower the freezer temperature is, the better it is preserved, quite the contrary, in reality, the optimal temperature is from -10ºC to -8ºC because in this way it is difficult for it to frost and when comes out of the freezer will not break due to thermal difference. The breakage due to thermal difference generates that there is much more contact surface of the ice with the liquid and therefore, it will leave us with more residual water in the glass.
When should we discard an ice: color, smell, shape? What are the great enemies of ice in a house or at a party?
The completely white ice classic is not a good sign, really. It’s a classic, but that type of ice carries a lot of air inside and maybe even some impurities. It is also important to know that ice picks up a lot of odors in freezers and we must insulate it well. The ideal is not to open that bag with a couple of fingers and let it die at the bottom: the trick is a good airtight container and keeping it well covered in the freezer.
Do ice cubes have a ‘best before’ or expiration date?
It is important to always look at what the supplier indicates, but it is not advisable to leave the ice forgotten for a long time, it is not a matter of health or that it will make us feel bad, but it is, as we have said before, badly preserved it picks up odors or it will be too brittle.
It is usual that the glasses can be watered down if we are stingy with the ice. For a standard mix at home, how many pieces of ice would you recommend using?
for a drink highball type gin tonic about 125 to 200 grams of ice depending on the glass, of course. But what is important here is abundance, in the sense that the ice must be the majority in the glass so as not to be in an inferior condition and to be able to maintain the temperature well and leave little dilution water.
It is also common that, for reasons of practicality, we take the ice cubes out of a cooler and put them on the table to avoid trips. Do you recommend it or where ice is best -until it is used- is it in the freezer?
Yes, it’s not a drama, as long as the cooler is well insulated and has a filter at the bottom or double bottom so that the meltwater is not in contact with the ice itself.
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What kind of flavors or flavorings can we give our homemade ice with syrups or juices depending on what we are going to drink?
Many things can be added to ice. I always recommend that they are solid type things, since liquids such as syrups or juices, having antifreeze elements, will make the freezing process more complex and at the same time the ice much more fragile.
Images | Glass by Sips / Hotel Urban / iStock
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