Did you know that if you use distilled water for homemade ice cubes, your ice will last twice as long in your evening cocktails? And drinks taste better.
Restaurants and bars use professional filtration systems to create clear, long lasting ice — freezing water quickly to prevent bubbles. Clear ice “isn’t just for show: Its crystals are more tightly bound. So it melts more slowly, preventing waterlogged beverages.”
When we make ice at home, especially in standard fridge/ freezer systems, ice freezes from the outside in and clouds with minerals and trapped bubbles. But you can make pure, great-drinks ice too if you use DISTILLED WATER which, unlike tap water, contains no minerals. If you choose to boil the water first for a few seconds, bully for you! That’s even better to dissolve gases before freezing.
Any way you crunch it, super-clear ice lasts twice as long as regular cubes. And drinks taste better!
— adapted from Cook’s Illustrated (March & April 2012)