Upon opening your craft ice, you should allow it set out for a bit(maybe a couple minutes or so) to allow it to “temper”. Doing so will keep it from fracturing when a warmer liquid is poured over it, thus allowing it to maintain that extremely clear look. Craft Cocktail ice should come packaged in a sealed bag or container. Once you open the ice for use, any unused ice should be resealed and stored in the freezer. This will keep unwanted smells and tastes from your freezer to affect your craft cocktail ice. If you don’t intend on using all of the ice at once, you may consider packaging smaller amounts into small zip lock bags and placing these back into your freeze to keep them from sticking together once they have been kept out for a period of time. If they do happen to stick together, carefully use an ice pick to chip them apart.

I believe the answer is yes. Ice has become the missing quality ingredient in cocktails today. The saying that ”one eats with their eyes first” refers to the fact that a person's perception of food is influenced by its visual appearance before they taste it. Cocktails are no exception. If you are currently putting molded or crushed “Hotel” ice in your cocktails, then you are presenting a cocktail that is not only less appealing to look at, but ultimately will not be the best tasting either.

Absolutely! The rate of dilution from ice in your cocktail is based on the exposed surface area of the ice. The more exposed surface area, the faster the ice melts and dilutes your cocktail. Nobody wants their drink to taste “watered down”. If you’re paying for a quality cocktail, you want it to taste great from the first to the last sip.

Craft Cocktail ice is made from a special process. True craft cocktail ice starts with highly filtered water like that from an RO filtration system, thus removing any unwanted tastes and smells. Secondly, it goes through a process called directional freezing, which removes the air that causes ice to melt more quickly. Why is this important, you may ask? If you’re buying expensive spirits or paying premium prices for a cocktail at a bar or restaurant, you want that drink to taste as great as possible, from the first sip to the last. Standard ice molds or crushed ice machines simply can’t duplicate the quality of an actual craft cocktail ice production company.