Ice Tools and Ice Supplies

Around the first century, Roman emperor Nero was notorious for enjoying glacial ice in his drink. Nowadays, thanks to Floridian John Gorrie, the father of air conditioning and mechanical refrigeration, everyone can enjoy having a nice chilled drink.

Ice tools and supplies are a bar essential to keeping your beverages and ingredients nice and cool. Scoops, trays, buckets, tongs, and even metal ice cubes help every bartender serve the best and most refreshing drink to customers.

Different Ice Tools and Supplies

Ice Scoops and Scoop Holders. These items help scoop up ice to avoid contaminating the drink with your hands or other objects. The scoops also prevent you from putting too much ice in a glass as they already have a limit.

Scoop holders, as they are aptly named, hold your scoops when they are not in use. They prevent the scoop from touching unclean surfaces and keeps the bar arranged and organized.

Ice Trays and Molds. Some of these trays are catered to different types of drinks. Large ice molds are marvelous for drinks that need minimum dilution. Beverages such as whiskey, scotch, and brandy go great with large ice cubes since they’re known to have a strong taste.

Small ice or medium ice trays are excellent for making cocktails, shakes, and other drinks that can benefit from smaller-sized ice cubes. Cocktails like Moscow mules , Juleps, and margaritas are known to be served with small or crushed ice.

Ice Buckets and Tubs. Similar to ice trays and molds, their primary function is to keep drinks and ice cool. But instead of cooling the beverage by pouring ice into it, they keep your bottles cool instead. It is beneficial since it does not water down your drinks, and the flavor is kept strong.

They are either made of plastic, acrylic, or stainless steel. Some are designed for certain bottles like wine, champagne, or beer, but certain buckets keep only ice as an option for guests to cool their drinks.

Ice Pick and Tongs. Much like the ice scoops, you can use ice picks or tongs to pick up ice cubes without contaminating the drink. The difference between them is tongs can hold one ice cube at a time, which gives you more control over how much ice you would like in your drink.

Picks are excellent for making crushed ice without putting too much force on it. They’re designed to be long, slender, and sharp, which provides a precise point to split ice with ease. Crushed ice goes hand-in-hand with ice scoops and even ice buckets, as they can change their form effortlessly.

Stainless Steel Ice Cubes. Ice cubes pose a melting problem with drinks. They water down and dull your drink down, which makes them less enjoyable. With metal ice cubes, you can keep your drink nice and cold without having to worry about it melting.

They’re reusable, easy to use, and you can save a ton of money from not using ice water. The best part is that they retain their cold temperature longer than regular ice since metal is an excellent thermal conductor.