Getting clear ice is challenging and takes some effort. Camper English at Alcademics.com has done some great work on exploring the different ways that work and don’t work. I’ve experimented with a number of the processes over the years. It would be great if you could just pour plain old tap water into a mold and get perfect ice. So far the product by Wintersmith’s is the closet to that to date. They decided to focus on spheres for their first ice product launch.
It started as a Kickstarter last year. I missed out on it but they were extremely nice and sent me one to review. The product clocks in at $85 (for $5 more you can make it a kit for Father’s Day). This puts it in the middle for ice sphere pricing. You have the Tovolo & Arctic Chill under $20 on the base end, Wintersmith’s under $100 in the middle and Cirrus around $500+ on the high end. With each jump in spend, you get clearer more uniform ice with a slightly bigger time investment.
Wintersmith’s is a happy medium. Reasonabe price point and about 36 hour +/- turnaround.
The unit looks like a slick coffee tumbler with molded inserts. The instructions say to assemble the mold and then fill the water from the top. I found it easier to fill the tumbler with water then push the mold into it. Both options trap some air in the assembly which was removed with some shaking and tapping.
Freeze this guy in the coldest part of the freezer for 24-48 hours and you have a great sphere of ice ready to go.
The resulting product is very clear especially compared to regular ice molds. It has a good shape but can get numbs on the top and the bottom where the filling holes were. These can be chipped off or just ignored.
Compared to the Tovolo ice mold, you can see the difference. The Wintersmith’s product is a much slower freezing process allowing time for the dissolved minerals and gas in water to escape or come to the surface. It does take longer to do this but results in a superior product.
It is a highly impressive product that looks great in a glass of dark spirits. The money is worth the investment. Check it out.
Budmo!
Hey Nick – huge fan of the Winterballer and the quest for clear spheres.
Just stumbled upon another cool sphere kickstarter that I’m trying to promote (so I can get my unit in November).
The price point is insane for a solid aluminum ice press.
Take a look and help spread the word if you dig it:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530556766/the-magic-ice-orb-presstm-the-ultimate-bar-party-a
Thanks! I had this same idea. I actually started buying tooling but the CNC I had access to didn’t have a chuck big enough and it started getting too expensive. Keep me updated on the progress. I’ll see if I can drive some traffic and I’ll be interested if you make the goal. Good luck!