Clear ice

Ice

Clear ice is ice frozen in one direction, so the cloudiness collects in one part that you can cut away.

Also called: block ice · clear ice cubes

Cooler freeze time: About 24 hours, check from 18 hours
Clear-ice mold freeze time: 14 to 20 hours
Cloudy part of a cooler block: The last 25% or so to freeze, at the bottom
Water depth in the cooler: About 5 in (13 cm)
Rest before serving: 1 to 2 minutes at room temperature, so the ice does not crack

What Clear ice means

Tray ice turns cloudy because it freezes from every side at once, which traps air and minerals in the middle. Clear ice freezes from one side only, so the cloudy material ends up in the last part to freeze.

Start with a small hard-sided cooler, lid off, filled with about 5 in (13 cm) of tap water, so the water freezes from the top down. Cut cubes suit an on the rocks drink served in a rocks glass.

A lot of home bartenders assume boiling the water first gives clear ice. It does not. Boiled water still freezes cloudy in a tray. Ice clears when it freezes in one direction, so the direction of freezing matters more than how the water was treated first.

How to make clear ice

You need a small hard-sided cooler, tap water, a serrated knife and a mallet, plus about a day to freeze.

1.Fill a small hard-sided cooler with about 5 in (13 cm) of tap water, and leave the lid off.
2.Freeze the cooler for about 24 hours, checking from 18 hours in.
3.Take the block out before the bottom 25% or so freezes, since that last part is cloudy.
4.Leave the cooler on the counter for five minutes so the block loosens, then turn it out.
5.Score the block with a serrated knife, then tap the knife with a mallet to split it into 2-inch (5 cm) cubes.
6.Cut off any cloudy bottom before you use the cubes.
7.Let the cut cubes rest for one to two minutes at room temperature before they go into a drink, or they can crack.

Clear ice compared

Freezer tray iceTray cubes freeze from all sides together, so air and minerals get trapped in the center.
Ice sphereClear describes how the ice was frozen. A sphere is a shape, and a sphere can be clear or cloudy.

Related terms

Put it to use in your next drink

Garçon explains every step as you make the drink.