Ice (Cubed)
Cubed ice is water frozen in cubes, and in a drink it does two jobs at once: it chills and it dilutes, because ice cools a drink mainly by melting. Cold, hard cubes straight from the freezer give the most chill for the least water. We shake hard with cubes for 10 to 12 seconds, stir with them for 20 to 30, and fill the glass to the top for any drink built over ice.
Quick Facts
Frozen, in a sealed bag or lidded box away from strong-smelling food. Use a clean scoop, and discard ice that has thawed and refrozen.
None of the 14 listed allergens.
About Ice (Cubed)
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Odourless and flavour-neutral when fresh. Poor-quality ice may introduce freezer aromas or excess wateriness, negatively affecting balance.
Ice chills by melting, so it always dilutes
Warming a gram of ice by one degree takes very little heat; melting that gram takes about 160 times as much, by the figures Dave Arnold gives. That is why ice chills so well, and why chilling and dilution cannot be separated: the cold arrives as meltwater. What you can control is the ratio. Cold, hard ice straight from the freezer absorbs heat before it starts to melt, while wet ice that has sat out at 0°C gives up water on contact.
Fill the glass, and choose the cube for the drink
A glass packed with cubes stays colder, so it melts more slowly, which is why our Whisky and Ginger Ale and Pink Gin and Tonic both fill the glass to the top. A single large cube suits a short drink sipped slowly, such as the Pink Gin on the rocks, and a block goes in a punch bowl, as in the tea version of the Tropical Punch. In the shaker, size matters less: Difford's Guide reports little difference in dilution between cube sizes when the ice is cold and dry.
Which ice for which job
Standard cubes
- Melts
- Steadily
- Used for
- Shaking, stirring, highballs
- Technique
- Shake 10 to 12 seconds; stir 20 to 30; fill long glasses
One large cube
- Melts
- Slowly
- Used for
- Short drinks built in the glass
- Technique
- Stir 15 to 20 seconds over it
Block
- Melts
- Very slowly
- Used for
- Punch bowls
- Technique
- Freeze in a tub the day before
Crushed
- Melts
- Fast
- Used for
- Juleps, swizzles, tiki drinks
- Technique
- Pack and mound; the melt is part of the recipe
Dry ice
- Melts
- Not ice for drinks
- Used for
- Fog outside the bowl only
- Technique
- Never in a glass or punch
| Form | Melts | Used for | Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard cubes | Steadily | Shaking, stirring, highballs | Shake 10 to 12 seconds; stir 20 to 30; fill long glasses |
| One large cube | Slowly | Short drinks built in the glass | Stir 15 to 20 seconds over it |
| Block | Very slowly | Punch bowls | Freeze in a tub the day before |
| Crushed | Fast | Juleps, swizzles, tiki drinks | Pack and mound; the melt is part of the recipe |
| Dry ice | Not ice for drinks | Fog outside the bowl only | Never in a glass or punch |
Clear ice is about looks, sealed ice is about taste
Ordinary cubes go cloudy because water freezes inwards from every side and traps air and dissolved minerals in the centre. Freezing from the top down, in an insulated box, pushes them ahead of the ice and leaves a clear block. It looks better and tastes the same. What does change the taste is the freezer: ice absorbs smells, so keep it sealed. For drinks that need fast melt instead, see crushed ice.
Dry ice is never ice for a drink
Dry ice is a different substance altogether: carbon dioxide frozen to around minus 78°C. It can burn skin on contact and the gut if swallowed, and the British Compressed Gases Association warns against using it to cool or serve drinks. For a smoking punch bowl, it goes in an outer container with warm water, handled with insulated gloves and tongs, and never touches the drink.
Using Ice (Cubed)
Usage
Fill the shaker two-thirds and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds; stir 20 to 30 seconds in a mixing glass, or 15 to 20 over one large cube in the serving glass. For highballs, fill the glass to the top. Never reuse shaker ice in the glass.
Pro Tip
For a highball, stir the ice in the empty glass for a few seconds, tip away the meltwater and refill with cubes before pouring the spirit. That first melt then ends up in the sink, not the drink.
Top Tips
- Fill the glass. A full glass of cubes keeps the drink cold with less melt than a few cubes rattling in it.
- Use ice straight from the freezer. Ice that has sat out is already wet and adds water on contact.
- Strain shaken drinks over fresh cubes. Shaker ice is chipped and melting, and waters the drink fast.
- Keep ice sealed in the freezer. It picks up smells from food and passes them to the drink.
Possible Substitutions
- Ice (Crushed): only for drinks written for it: it melts far faster and waters a stirred drink
Production Method
Drinking water frozen in trays or an ice machine. Ordinary cubes freeze from every side at once and trap air and dissolved minerals in the middle, which makes them cloudy; clear ice is frozen from one direction so the air is pushed out ahead of the ice.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is cubed ice?
Does more ice make a drink weaker?
Do big ice cubes really melt slower?
How do you make clear ice at home?
Why does home ice taste off?
Can I use dry ice in a drink?
Can I reuse the ice from the shaker?
Made with Ice (Cubed)
Featured In These Cocktails
Often Used With
Updated 17 October 2026