Ice Ice Baby

Are you picky about your ice?

We know people who are extraordinarily picky about it. We have a friend who rinses his ice before adding his beverage. We also have relatives who complain about stale or old ice, who constantly dump our ice containers in our freezers, who remind us to do so in advance of their visits.

Our sister and her boyfriend are cocktail drinkers, and ice is critical to their daily indulgence. Therefore, they ripped out a kitchen cabinet and installed something that looks a lot like this:

Inside, the ice looks like this:

No doubt this ice was superior. Take a closer look at the clear, perfectly shaped cubes:

We once lived in house that had an outdoor ice maker by the grill. (We had an outdoor cooktop and fridge too — what luxury!)

These separate unit ice makers are great because most models constantly recycle the ice. Older ice on the bottom will melt and be filtered out. The new ice is always fresh and clear.

Much as all this lovely ice, so easily available, appeals to us, we think you’d need to be a pretty serious cocktailer to invest in this particular gadget.