Order a bourbon or old-fashioned from most any bar, and your glass will likely arrive clinking with just one large ice cube. Serious sippers know there’s more than tradition and aesthetics behind this presentation. We asked bartenders for the scoop.
“Temperature can be a foe to certain drinks, and there are cocktails that need time,” says Barry Himel, beverage director for New Orleans’ Dickie Brennan & Co. restaurant group, which includes Bourbon House. “Large ice can help us control the flavor and length of a beverage.”
There’s simple science to back him up: A large or “king” cube has a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio compared with multiple smaller cubes or crushed ice. As such, it melts gradually and holds the drink’s sweet-spot temperature—and taste—for longer. If bourbon is too warm, ethanol can dominate the nose and palate. If it’s too cold, its flavor compounds become muted.
Then there’s the matter of dilution, which affects flavor in a more obvious way—by watering the drink down. “The melted ice from a large cube won’t dilute the whiskey too quickly,” says Neal Simpson of Barnett’s Whiskey House in Waco, Texas.
Dilution isn’t always bad, but it, too, has a sweet spot. “Over one large cube is the way to enjoy a single spirit in its purest form if you want to mellow out its sharper notes,” says Lando Sprinkle of the Red Ribbon Society speakeasy in Asheville. A bourbon over a large cube changes slowly over time, as the growing water content gradually unlocks different flavors. By the end of your glass, Sprinkle says, “you’ve had a whole experience.”
Most bars have their own ice suppliers (Dickie Brennan uses New Orleans–based MELT, while Barnett’s sources from a company called Fat Ice), but when it comes to enjoying a drink at home, the easiest thing to do is buy a simple mold in whatever shape you prefer. And the crowning aesthetic touch, according to both Himel and Simpson? Stamp the cube using a metal ice stamp or stamping tray. “I’m a fan of square ice because it looks nicest in a glass,” Himel says, “and stamped, it’s a real showstopper.”
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