Ice & Easy

The More Torrid the outside temperature, the more fun it is to feel the first exhilarating tingle of a planter's punch, to reach for a tom collins as tall as a glacier or for a julep that's Klondike cold. Drinks made with cracked or crushed ice need not be elaborately constructed addenda to sedate lawn parties. Some of the best known are made by merely pouring liquor over coarsely cracked ice. A perfect example is ouzo, the Greek aperitif liqueur. Like the French pastis and other Mediterranean members of the anise family, it turns a glacial white when churned with ice or water. It's sipped with equal gusto before the meal or after the (continued on page 173) Ice & Easy (continued from page 102) demitasse as a highball, and has the uncanny ability to almost instantly counteract the dehydrating effects of a long summer's game, a drive or a swim.

There was a time when rocks were really rocky, when a bartender armed with an ice pick hacked away at his block of ice until it eventually disappeared. On a summer's day you'd ask for a gin rickey and it would come to you with one or two tottering crags of ice. It looked cool, but it couldn't possibly stand up to a contemporary gin rickey, because of a simple undisputed fact: Ice is now much colder than it once was. Frozen water may be 32° F. or, just as possibly these days, --32° F. Most of the cubes in the present ice age range from zero to --10°. Needless to say, for fast cooler-offers, the colder the ice, the better. Crushed ice or cracked ice is chillier in a bar glass than the cubed variety, because more cooling ice surface comes into intimate contact with the drink.

A few summer drinks are squat rather than tall, but these, too, are carefully built on good icemanship. A cold bourbon toddy, for instance, is made with a hefty jigger of bourbon, a tentative spray of sugar, a miserly spoonful of water to dissolve the sugar, a big insolent ice cube and an optional twist of lemon. Both the bourbon and the old fashioned glass in which it's conveyed should be prechilled so that the drink's frosty flavor is as undiluted as possible. There are other iced drinks that do the honors in the opposite way, such as the frozen daiquiri. For all practical purposes, it's a purée of ice, rum, sugar and lime juice. Like a comforting thick soup in the winter, it's both prandial and potable. A perfectionist among daiquiri men will insist that the ice in his completed drink be neither chips nor mere slush but just fine enough to go through the holes of a coarse metal sieve.

The number of muscle-powered as well as plug-in ice crushers seems to have kept pace with the population explosion. There are ice crushers, used as blender attachments, that can reduce a tray of ice cubes to crushed ice or snow ice in 20 to 30 seconds. Even simple ice trays are now designed not only for cubes but for ice slices, 38 to a tray, and perhaps most useful of all, for cracked ice. Lacking this equipment, a man needn't find the technique for cracking or crushing ice too difficult. Simply place the ice cubes in a canvas bag designed for this purpose or in a large clean kitchen towel (wrap the towel around the ice so that there is a double thickness of cloth); on a carving board, bang the bag or towel with a mallet or the smooth side of a meat tenderizer. Keep your banging somewhat restrained if you want fair-sized pieces of cracked ice; for crushed ice, whack away with abandon.

Every barman--amateur or pro--should insist that his ice be clean, hard and dry, and should make each drink or batch of drinks with fresh ice. Hoard your ice in the freezing section of your refrigerator until you actually need it. Use ice buckets with vacuum sides and lids; plastic foam ice tubs are convenient for throwaway service. When you empty your ice trays, don't run water over them, unless absolutely necessary to spring the ice free. Running water causes them to eventually stick together after they're put into the bucket. Most new ice trays, especially those with no-stick surfaces, discharge their cargo with a single swift yank. There are refrigerators that not only make ice cubes automatically but turn them out and store them night and day--a comforting thought when one is party-planning. If the water in your fiefdom is heavily chlorinated, use bottled spring water for ice.

Finally, as a host, be the most prodigal of icemen. If you're gambling on the fact that you may just possibly get by with two buckets of ice at a summer fling, don't gamble. Provide at least three or four bucketfuls for supercooling your crowd. If your icemaking equipment is somewhat limited, find out before your rumpus takes place just where you can buy or borrow additional ice.

In the summertime, glassware--almost as much as liquor and ice--helps create what Fielding called the "universal grin." To chill glasses, either bury them in cracked ice for a minute or two before pouring your drinks or use the instant icer, also known as the glass chiller. This is the device that sprays a vapor on the glass and causes it to turn frosty white. The frosty white film lasts only for a minute or two, although the glass does stay icy cold to the touch. To frost glasses more heavily, dip them in water, and while they're still dripping, place them in the freezer section of your refrigerator, set at its coldest point, for two or three hours. To sugar-frost the rims of glasses, first of all make sure that you have superfine sugar--not the regular granulated and not confectioners'. The rim of each glass, inside and outside, should be moistened to a depth of about 1/4 in. before dipping into sugar. Here are four easy approaches to the rim rite: (1) Rub rim with small wedge of lemon or orange; invert glass to shake off extra juice; dip into sugar. (2) Rub rim with lemon or orange peel, using outside of peel; dip into sugar. (3) Rub rim lightly with grenadine, falernum or any other syrup, or rub with any liqueur; dip into sugar. (4) Rub rim with coffee liqueur; dip into a mixture of 3 teaspoons superfine sugar mixed well with 1 teaspoon powdered instant coffee. The contents of sugar-frosted glasses should be sipped without benefit of straw.

The well-known technique of fighting fire with fire works even better with ice. When newcomers meet, the best way to cut through the frozen surface is to make a dash for your ice vault and then take the shortest possible route to your liquor cabinet. The following 12 icebreakers will pleasurably demonstrate our thesis.

[recipe_title]Derby Daiquiri[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1-1/2 ozs. light rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. fresh lime juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. fresh orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. simple syrup[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2/3 cup finely crushed ice[/drinkRecipe]

Put all ingredients in blender. Mix 10 seconds at high speed. Pour into 6-oz. saucer champagne glass or outsize cocktail glass. To make simple syrup, add 1 cup granulated sugar to 1 cup boiling water. Simmer for an additional minute and a half. Cool syrup to room temperature before using.

[recipe_title]Frozen Banana Daiquiri[/recipe_title]

Use 6-oz. true fruit banana liqueur instead of simple syrup in previous recipe.

[recipe_title]Caribbean Sling[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. light rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. fresh lime juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. triple sec[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. club soda[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 piece cucumber rind, 1/2 in. wide, 4 ins. long[/drinkRecipe]

Put rum, lime juice, lemon juice, triple sec and sugar into tall 16-oz. glass. Stir well until sugar dissolves. Add club soda. Fill glass with coarsely cracked ice. Stir lightly. Garnish with cucumber rind.

[recipe_title]Ouzo Cooler[/recipe_title]

Sugar-frost rim of tall 12-oz. glass, rubbing rim lightly with ouzo before dipping it into sugar. Fill glass with ice slices or coarsely cracked ice (not crushed ice). Add 2 ozs. ouzo. Stir well. Ice will melt slightly. Add more ice to fill glass to rim and stir again. French pastis or American Abisante may be used in place of ouzo if desired.

[recipe_title]Barbados Planter's Punch[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]2-1/2 ozs. golden rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. heavy dark rum[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. fresh lime juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 teaspoons sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]3 dashes angostura bitters[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]Nutmeg[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 slice lime[/drinkRecipe]

Put both kinds of rum, lime juice, sugar and bitters into tall 12-oz. glass. Stir well until sugar is dissolved. Fill glass to rim with coarsely cracked ice. Stir again. Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Garnish with slice of lime.

[recipe_title]Bourbon and Madeira Julep[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1-1/2 ozs. bourbon[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1-1/2 ozs. madeira[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 pineapple cocktail stick[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]3 sprigs mint[/drinkRecipe]

Fill double old fashioned glass with coarsely cracked ice. Add bourbon, madeira and lemon juice. Stir well. Add more ice, if necessary, to fill glass to rim. Garnish with pineapple stick and mint. Amontillado sherry may be substituted for madeira.

[recipe_title]Mocha Medley[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. coffee liqueur[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 oz. white crème de menthe[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 oz. crème de cacao[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 oz. triple sec[/drinkRecipe]

Sugar-frost rim of 6-oz. saucer champagne glass, using coffee-sugar mixture previously described. Fill glass with finely crushed ice or snow ice. Add liquors. Serve with short straw. Individual mocha medleys may be made beforehand and stored in freezing section of refrigerator until needed. In time, the ice will form a solid cap on top of each drink and liquor will settle to bottom. Omit straw. A minute or two after drinks are removed from freezer, ice cap will loosen and liquor may be easily sipped from rim.

[recipe_title]Rhenish Raspberry[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 cup frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. vodka[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/4 cup Rhine wine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]11/2 teaspoons red currant syrup or grenadine[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 cup coarsely cracked ice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. club soda[/drinkRecipe]

Put raspberries with their syrup, vodka, Rhine wine, red currant syrup, lemon juice and ice in blender. Spin at high speed for 10 seconds. Pour into tall 16-oz. glass. Add club soda. Add ice cubes until glass is filled to brim. Stir lightly.

[recipe_title]Almond Cobbler[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1-1/2 ozs. gin[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. fresh orange juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. fresh lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon orgeat or orzata (almond syrup)[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. club soda[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 slice orange[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 tablespoon sliced almonds[/drinkRecipe]

Pour gin, orange juice, lemon juice and orgeat into tall 12-oz. glass. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add club soda. Fill to brim with coarsely cracked ice. Stir lightly. Garnish with slice of orange and sprinkle with almonds. (Almonds may be oven-toasted, if desired. Place them in shallow pan, sprinkle lightly with melted butter and bake in moderate oven 10 to 12 minutes or until medium brown, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cool before adding to drink.)

[recipe_title]Brandy Cassis[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. California brandy[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. crème de cassis[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. fresh lime juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 slice lime[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 brandied cherry or maraschino cherry[/drinkRecipe]

Pour brandy, crème de cassis and lime juice into 8-oz. old fashioned glass. Fill glass with ice slices or coarsely cracked ice. Stir well. Garnish with slice of lime and cherry.

[recipe_title]Grapefruit and Honey Cooler[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. blended whiskey[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 ozs. unsweetened grapefruit juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. honey[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]2 dashes orange bitters[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 cocktail orange slice in syrup[/drinkRecipe]

Pour whiskey, grapefruit juice, honey and bitters into blender. Mix at high speed for 10 seconds. Pour into tall 12-oz. glass. Fill glass with coarsely cracked ice. Stir. Garnish with cocktail orange slice.

[recipe_title]Gin and Ginger[/recipe_title]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. gin[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 oz. ginger brandy[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1/2 oz. lemon juice[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]4 ozs. ginger beer or ginger ale[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 slice lemon[/drinkRecipe]

[drinkRecipe]1 small chunk preserved ginger in syrup[/drinkRecipe]

Put gin, ginger brandy, lemon juice and sugar into tall 12-oz. glass. Stir well until sugar dissolves. Add ginger beer. Add coarsely cracked ice to fill glass. Stir lightly. Garnish with lemon slice and preserved ginger.

And thus, with a spate of coolly constructed libations, the iceman swingeth.