I have been using plastic ones for about two years, and they work fine. Sometimes, they’re hard to remove, though, and you lose a quarter of the ice ball running it under enough water to get the ice to break loose from the mold.
But now Rizzi from Arctic Chill has sent me a set of their Arctic Chill silicone ice ball molds to review, and I’ve got to tell you: these are the way to go. They’re non-toxic, made out of BPA free silicone, and they make perfect sized ice balls.
You see, the problem with most ice ball molds is that they’re two small. What you really need is one that barely fits into a highball glass, and these are perfect. I use them whenever I have a glass of scotch or bourbon, but also with Negronis and sometimes even with Manhattans when I want to have one over ice.
I took one and timed how long it took to melt on its own, and it lasts about three hours. With liquid, it’s under two hours, but still, that’s a long time. And that’s what you want, after all: ice that has as little surface area as possible so that the beverage stays cold with as little melting as possible.
I highly recommend them.
At first, however, I was skeptical. The first few I made, I had trouble getting them to release. Now, however, they come out every time. Just remove the top of the mold, grab one side of the ice and pull down on the bottom mold. Voila! A perfect sphere.
Even with white ice, the Arctic Chill Ice Ball Molds are the key to a good dram. If you want perfectly clear ice, I suppose you can go buy a Kold Draft ice machine. For those of us at home who want to chill our Negronis and bourbons without watering them down too much, go for a silicone ice ball mold, like the one from Arctic Chill.
Perfect for my husband stocking. Thanks!
Inspired by Dr. Chad’s ice balls, I ordered a set of silicone ice molds last summer, and I’ve been using them for about 5 months. They work great. Plus, everyone in the house knows that they are mine, so I can control the supply exclusively. In addition to straight whiskeys, I like them for simple, non-shaken cocktails as well (e.g., crooked lawyers).
Oh, man, the Crooked Lawyer. I forgot all about that. What was in that again?