How To Choose The Best Type Of Ice For Your Homemade Cocktails

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If you're throwing a cocktail together at home, ice may be a bit of an afterthought; just something you're tossing in the glass or shaker to keep it cold. But for serious at-home mixologists, ice is as much a part of the cocktail as the "main" ingredients, thanks to the role it plays in controlling your drink's temperature and the way it dilutes over time.

The wrong-shaped ice can throw off the balance of your drink. According to James Beard Award-winner Toby Maloney, author of "The Classic Cocktail Sessions," it's the size of your ice that typically matters most. "The smaller the ice, the faster it melts," he told Chowhound. This means you'll generally want more substantial ice cubes for cocktails you plan to drink slowly (it's also why you'll often see big ice spheres paired with whiskey and other sip-friendly spirits).

So, if you want to make the best martini of your life, for instance, "Never put ice in a martini glass," Maloney adamantly proclaims. Instead, you'll just stir it with ice but strain it into an ideally chilled glass without it. Standard 1-inch cubes are good here. In fact, these are great for most shaken or stirred drinks, as they'll chill the beverage as you mix it without breaking up and releasing too much water. You can also default to these for classic highball drinks like a gin and tonic or a Paloma, as their moderate size means they dilute at a steady pace.

Toby Maloney also suggests using "big chunks for more contemplative drinks" — think spirit-heavy tipples worth savoring, like Old Fashioneds, Negronis, or a classic, well-garnished Manhattan. Many people opt for 2-inch cubes — which can be made in a silicone mold like the Tovolo King Cube Ice Mold Tray — because there's less surface area exposed to the alcohol. This yields a more balanced chilled drink without too much dilution.

At the other end of the spectrum, you've got crushed ice, which is great for drinks that will be consumed quickly, says Maloney. This includes cocktails that tend to feature more fruit flavors or syrups, like tiki drinks, mojitos, and mint juleps. It's thought that the waterier slushy ice helps open up the high-proof rums and concentrated syrups prominent in such drinks; if you were to use larger ice blocks, you wouldn't get enough dilution, and the drink might be a bit too pungent. Crushed ice requires a little more work than the cubed variety: You can do it yourself by putting ice in a canvas bag and whacking it with a mallet, or else get a hand-cranked crusher; electric ice crushing machines are another option, and you can find some for as little as $40. However, sacrificing the kitchen space for such a specific appliance may only be worth it if you make these drinks frequently. But whatever you're drinking, heed Maloney's advice for a homemade cocktail that's basically guaranteed to be a hit.