Ice (Crushed)
Crushed ice is cubed ice broken into small pieces, so it has far more surface and chills and melts much faster than cubes. Drinks built on it, juleps, swizzles and tiki drinks, are written strong because the fast melt is part of their balance. The Rum Runner is shaken with cubes and strained over a glass of crushed ice, and its frozen version goes through the blender with it.
Quick Facts
Crush just before use. Keep the cubes frozen and sealed until then; crushed ice stored in the freezer fuses into a block.
None of the 14 listed allergens.
About Ice (Crushed)
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Neutral in flavour, with rapid chilling and dilution that softens strong spirits and integrates multiple modifiers quickly.
Small pieces melt fast, and that is the point
Breaking a cube into small pieces multiplies the surface touching the drink, so crushed ice chills almost at once and keeps melting as the glass is drunk. A drink built over it changes as it goes, getting longer and softer. Juleps, swizzles, cobblers and long tiki drinks are written strong, often with overproof or several rums, because that melt is part of how they balance.
Crushed ice against cubes
Crushed
- Surface for its size
- High
- Dilution
- Fast, continues in the glass
- Drinks
- Juleps, swizzles, cobblers, tiki
- Method
- Strain or pour over; churn or swizzle; mound
Standard cubes
- Surface for its size
- Moderate
- Dilution
- Steady
- Drinks
- Highballs, shaken and stirred drinks
- Method
- Shake 10 to 12 seconds; stir 20 to 30
One large cube
- Surface for its size
- Low
- Dilution
- Slow
- Drinks
- Short drinks sipped over time
- Method
- Stir 15 to 20 seconds over it
Blender slush
- Surface for its size
- Very high, wet
- Dilution
- Mostly done before the glass
- Drinks
- Frozen drinks
- Method
- Blend until smooth; serve at once
| Ice | Surface for its size | Dilution | Drinks | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crushed | High | Fast, continues in the glass | Juleps, swizzles, cobblers, tiki | Strain or pour over; churn or swizzle; mound |
| Standard cubes | Moderate | Steady | Highballs, shaken and stirred drinks | Shake 10 to 12 seconds; stir 20 to 30 |
| One large cube | Low | Slow | Short drinks sipped over time | Stir 15 to 20 seconds over it |
| Blender slush | Very high, wet | Mostly done before the glass | Frozen drinks | Blend until smooth; serve at once |
Crush it dry, by bag and mallet
A Lewis bag and mallet is how most bars do it by hand. The canvas takes up water while you beat it, so the ice reaches the glass dry, rough-edged and ready to hold a heap. At home, a folded tea towel and a rolling pin will do. Keep the blender for frozen drinks: its slush is wet before the drink even starts.
In the Rum Runner it does two jobs
The Keys version of the Rum Runner is shaken hard with cubes for 10 to 12 seconds, then strained into a hurricane glass filled with crushed ice, which keeps diluting the rums, liqueurs and lime as it is drunk. The Frozen Runner puts two large scoops of crushed ice in the blender with everything else for 20 to 30 seconds. Either way, pack the glass, pour, top up the ice and garnish on the mound.
Using Ice (Crushed)
Usage
Packed into the glass and mounded over the rim for juleps, swizzles and tiki drinks, with the drink strained or poured over it. Shake with cubes for 10 to 12 seconds first, then strain over crushed ice. For frozen drinks, use it in the blender.
Pro Tip
Top up the crushed ice after the first churn or swizzle. The level always drops as the ice melts into the drink, and the final mound is what keeps the top of the glass cold.
Top Tips
- Crush it just before use. Crushed ice left in the freezer welds back into a lump.
- Crush it in canvas or cloth. The fabric takes up water as you work, so the ice arrives dry and melts at the pace the recipe expects.
- Pack it firmly. Loose crushed ice melts faster and the drink sinks before it is finished.
- Do not swap it into a stirred drink. Crushed ice waters a spirit-led drink before it reaches the table.
Possible Substitutions
- Ice (Cubed): for drinks not written for crushed ice; with crushed-ice drinks, expect a stronger, slower-melting glass
Production Method
Cubed ice broken into small pieces, by hand in a canvas Lewis bag with a mallet, in a manual or electric crusher, or by an ice machine that makes small nuggets. A blender makes wetter, finer slush, which suits frozen drinks but not a built one.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is crushed ice?
Why do tiki drinks use crushed ice?
How do you crush ice without a machine?
Crushed or cubed ice: which should I use?
Why is crushed ice mounded over the glass?
Can I use crushed ice in a blender?
Made with Ice (Crushed)
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Updated 10 October 2026