Keeping drinks cold is serious business, at least I've been told
it should be, as I work in a bar and generally have to worry about
things like this.
And therein lies the rub. Water-based ice cubes are
traditional, but they're usually not preferable as while they do a
fantastic job at keeping stuff cold, they also have a tendency to piss
off some of our customers who are generally twats and are deeply
offended that their pristine, perfect drink is being befouled and,
quite frankly, shamed by the presence of WATER - Who do you think they are? Animals?
We used to use quite ingenious little metal devices. They were pretty much smooth, steel blobs that were hollow and almost completely filled with water. The water inside freezes and stays frozen for quite a while, which keeps the metal cold, that in turn keeps the drink cold. They are
completely tasteless, provided you don't put them in your mouth (at
which point they taste like metal - shocking!), did not dilute your drink and were quite stylish little things. They worked
wonderfully, and I have some of my own. The problem was they worked so
well that the rich business executives who passed through the bar made
it plainly clear that the reason they're rich in the first place is
because they're lying, cheating bastards who will not think twice of
ripping off the common man and stealing. Those things were expensive,
which is why we don't use them anymore.
So now we're currently back to the wonderful H20 system.
It's boring but it works. I've been looking into other options. There
are granite "ice cubes" that seem quite interesting. Cold Stone
Creamery uses a frozen block of granite to keep ice cream cold, but whether or not it can make something cold is another story. Everything I've read says that they're novelty items and nothing more.
The most viable solution seems to be Soapstone. It's been used to
make stuff like goblets, pots and cooking utensils, but can
it be used to cool
a drink?
I'm led to believe it's tasteless, has no harmful properties, is an
excellent thermal conductor, smooth to the touch and not likely to
damage glass. A wonder material that will cure all our ills! Amazing!
They said the same thing about radium
My boss has also expressed interest but should they go into
widespread use they will be at request only, as the natural urge to
crush ice when it's in your mouth might get the better of some patrons,
and expensive dental costs are not something we're particularly
interested in.
They might also seem less appealing to those rich bastards,
especially if we fail to mention the switch, serve them a fine whiskey
on the rocks and allow them to chew over the finer points of drink
cooling