Perfect ice for perfect drinks

Written by: Rebecca Milner on May 7, 2008 at 10:22 pm | In Technology & Gadget Trends |

Somebody out there is working on a device to create the perfect ice cube. Or ice sphere actually.

taisin-ice-mold.jpg

Taisin has introduced a mold that seamlessly creates a perfect sphere, no chipping and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press and, as it melts, the device will close around the ice forming a ball, which is then released by the flick of a switch.

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The Ice Mold, available in 55, 65, 70, and 80mm mold sizes, can make 30-40 ice balls an hour.

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Spheres of ice are preferred by serious on the rocks drinkers because the reduced surface size means that the ice melts at a slower pace, keeping your drink from getting watery to quickly.

Contrary to what you might think, bartenders in Japan consistently take home top honors at global competitions, not because of their flashy antics or strange new concoctions but because there is an intense devotion to making simply the best drink, of which perfect ice is an obvious component.

Speaking of top-notch beverages, Asahi’s Nikka Whiskey label will be releasing again for a limited time its Non-chill Filtered 20 Year Single Malt Whisky that took home the award for best single malt whiskey at the annual World Whisky Awards.

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Chilling during the filtering process is common practice to reduce the risk of the whiskey becoming cloudy, though at a sacrifice of taste. Nikka’s Non-chilled filtered goes for full taste, at the risk of having to sacrifice a few cloudy batches. Sales are limited to 1350 bottles and will sell for ¥20,000 (about $187), which considering the other premium beverages on the market, seems totally reasonable.

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Combine the Non-chill Filtered Nikka Whiskey on the rocks and a Taisin ice sphere for a perfect whiskey on the rocks!

UPDATE: Taisin Ice Ball Mold now available at JapanTrendShop.

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22 Comments »

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  1. I saw this a while ago, but the price was stupidly expensive. 28$ in parts, 10 minutes with a drill press, and you can make the exact same thing.

    a 1100$ markup? silly and not that interesting.

    Comment by NE — May 7, 2008 #

  2. The Icevertising Cometh…

    It seems like only yesterday that someone invented foamvertising using modified snow blowing machines, and now the new icevertising age is about to begin. Below is a new device that can make perfectly spherical ice cubes without time-consuming manual c…

    Trackback by Everybody Loves Free Stuff — May 8, 2008 #

  3. Seamless ice-spheres for superior whiskey-rocks…

    Using a sphere of ice (as opposed to a cube) in your whiskey-rocks is nice because the round ice melts more slowly than the square stuff (better surface-area/volume ratio). Now a Japanese company has introduced a mold for making a perfect, seamless ice…

    Trackback by Boing Boing — May 8, 2008 #

  4. I saw a $8 plastic version of this mold in the MOMA Design Store approx 2 weeks ago and wondered about the reasoning behind the creation. Now I know - thanks!

    It’s available on line… http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Spherical%20Ice%20Tray_10451_10001_27651

    Comment by ME — May 8, 2008 #

  5. The problem isn’t that the cubed ice is melting to quickly and watering down the whiskey, the problem is some folks don’t drink their whiskey fast enough.

    Comment by Shug — May 9, 2008 #

  6. To reduce surface area of ice cube use smaller ice cube.

    Comment by Chris H — May 9, 2008 #

  7. Create Perfect Ice Spheres For Perfect Cocktails…

    If you are serious about your on-the-rocks beverages, you probably already know that ice is a major factor in constructing the perfect drink. The best ice consists of quality water and is shaped in such a way that it does……

    Trackback by Gizmodo — May 9, 2008 #

  8. Perfect ice for perfect drinks…

    Somebody out there is working on a device to create the perfect ice cube. Or ice sphere actually.

    Taisin has introduced a mold that seamlessly creates a perfect sphere, no chipping and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press…

    Trackback by gadjoo.com — May 9, 2008 #

  9. Then you effectively lose desired cooling. So, in order to compensate, you’d probably use more of those smaller ice cubes–which means increased surface area.

    Comment by @Chris H — May 9, 2008 #

  10. “To reduce surface area of ice cube use smaller ice cube.”

    That’s a stupid answer. Using a smaller ice cube will result in less chilling of your drink, necessitating more ice cubes, which increases the overall surface area.

    The reason the sphere is preferred isn’t because it has a lower surface area but because it has a lower surface area /and the same volume/, so you get the same amount of chill with the least amount of melt.

    Comment by Chaos Motor — May 9, 2008 #

  11. Odd since the device depicted above does not appear to make spheres at all, there are two different molds shown and neither of them is a sphere with no edges.

    Since this device is supposed to create a sphere, and the lack of edges that would melt sooner is the sole sellling point, why are not seeing the spherical mold?

    Comment by Buck — May 9, 2008 #

  12. Buck - their website shows someone holding one with baseball stitching on it and some other molds including a beer mug made from ice. I guess these are just more examples of the kinds you can buy, i.e. the one depicted above produces soccer ball shaped ice.

    Comment by curious — May 9, 2008 #

  13. 5 Things I Love for Friday #114…

    Fifa Street Style 3 commercial [video] - The cynic in me wants to say this isn’t real. But if it is, man is that cool. It’s like parkour meets soccer. These guys would totally rule at a game of One-Touch,……

    Trackback by denyingphoenix — May 9, 2008 #

  14. If I’m not mistaken, the ability of ice to cool a drink is exactly proportional to the rate that the ice is melting. Wait — if the ice is significantly below freezing, the ice will just warm up as it cools the drink, until it reaches the melting point.

    Either way, the cooling effect of the ice is a function of how fast it’s absorbing heat from the drink (warming up or melting). A sphere would probably transfer heat the slowest because of its high volume to surface area ratio. This means that a sphere would last longer but cool the least of any other shape.

    That said, I’m a beginner metalworker. How would you cut those shapes into a piece of brass?

    Comment by falk — May 10, 2008 #

  15. Is it possible to shape ice in other forms as well?

    How quick would a machine do it?

    Would it be done manually?

    Comment by Alex Castellanos — May 16, 2008 #

  16. Guys, where can i buy this thing??

    Comment by Khaled — May 19, 2008 #

  17. The cooling/melting tradeoff is fixed, but a sphere’s surface-to-volume advantage over a similarly-sized cube is significantly less than the advantage of one larger cube over smaller ones. If you want to minimize melting (and save $1000), simply use the largest single cube you can.

    Comment by Clay C — May 23, 2008 #

  18. Hello, I found this site because restaurants have been buying our silicone sphere molds for this use. We make them for chefs to fill with sugar and chocolate.. but they work great with water.
    Have a look

    They are much more affordable then the metal molds.

    Comment by Michael Joy — June 4, 2008 #

  19. Hello, I found this site because restaurants have been buying our silicone sphere molds for this use. We make them for chefs to fill with sugar and chocolate.. but they work great with water

    I looked at your molds…..but you have to freeze the water in the mold, right? The point of the metal molds is that all you need is ice and you can use it over and over again without putting it in the freezer. If you’re making fifty ice balls per night, the metal molds seem to make more sense.

    Comment by Michael — June 4, 2008 #

  20. ..I was in the bar of “Ritz Carlton Tokyo” and ordered a Whiskey. The drink was served with big ice ball, fitted for the tumbler….., and guess, in the ball was the logo of Ritz Carlton in 3D !!!!
    Absolutly fantastic. But how the do…, looked
    like some laser action….
    Please send me some info, if somebody knows more about.

    regs Quincy

    Comment by Quincy Kline — June 5, 2008 #

  21. [...] and shaving required. Simple place a chunk of ice into the metal press and, as it melts, the devichttp://www.kilian-nakamura.com/blog-english/index.php/perfect-ice-for-perfect-drinks-from-taisin/Olympic medalist still making a splash at 90 - Chicago Sun-TimesThe medal was cast from the original [...]

    Pingback by mold making — July 24, 2008 #

  22. [...] chipping, shaving and seamless. Or to make ice soccer balls, baseballs or diamonds. (See more info here.) The mold arrived this morning on the same day the package tracking said it would, much to my [...]

    Pingback by Technofetishism » Article » Cool Thing - Taisin — August 8, 2008 #

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