Water and ice in your drink

[Edward Hamilton]

Had some of my vanilla infusion with ginger beer, followed by a glass of Mt. Gay XO with mineral water and lime.

I am always amazed how different waters affect the taste of the rum in my glass. Old ice cubes are probably the worst.

[Scottes]

I am always amazed how different waters affect the taste of the rum in my glass. Old ice cubes are probably the worst.
LOL! I'm running my dishwasher *just* to wash out the ice cubes trays since I forgot to buy good ice...

I tried rinsing the trays with hot water and soap in the sink, but they still stink. So they went into the dishwasher. I'm seriously thinking about heading out just to get a bag of ice....


Friend don't let friends drink with homemade ice.

[Count Silvio]

Buy ice?! Thats preposterous!

[Scottes]

Buy ice?! Thats preposterous!
Take some ice cubes out of your freezer and put them in a glass. Let them melt. Now pour a glass of fresh tap water and compare the two. If they taste the same then you're a lucky man, or you keep nothing in your freezer except ice.

http://www.theartofdrink.com/blog/2007/06/good-ice-makes-great-cocktails.php

[Hank Koestner]

I filter my ice cube water through a Brita, and make sure I wash the trays in very hot water before refilling.

[Count Silvio]

Take some ice cubes out of your freezer and put them in a glass. Let them melt. Now pour a glass of fresh tap water and compare the two. If they taste the same then you're a lucky man, or you keep nothing in your freezer except ice.

http://www.theartofdrink.com/blog/2007/06/good-ice-makes-great-cocktails.php

There was a tiny difference in taste but you wouldn't notice it if you really didn't concentrate.

[Edward Hamilton]

Ice cube trays are notorious for collecting calcium and other mineral scale from your municipal water supply. Over time this build up seriously affects the ice from your freezer. On the other hand, ice left in a freezer will suffer from freezer burn the same as meat and other food stored in a freezer without being properly packaged. In this age of frostless freezers it's hard to find frost inside a freezer but if you can find some, thaw it in a glass and you'll be able to taste the effect of leaving ice in the freezer too long.

[Milicent]

Great topic. I keep Ozarka on hand. I wasn't able to drink water for the majority of my life. One Christmas, my mother bought me a case of Evian in hopes I would begin drinking water. I downed the case like mad.

Since I thought I was now a water drinker, I bought a case of bottled water. I rarely finished any of the bottles I opened. Upon further inspection, I discovered I'd purchased filtered water. I next tried a case of spring water. Much better. After extensive comparisons, I found I like Ozarka spring water best.

If I am going to add water to a spirit, it will be Ozarka. Anything else I add detracts from the flavor. I've even done blind tastings of different waters and ice made with different waters. I can tell every time.

As a result, I only use spring water for mixing. It makes a big difference. Most importantly, it makes a difference I can discern.

Once again, great topic.

[Scottes]

I'm not a water drinker really, and never have been. I have a strong preference for carbonation, so seltzer is far more likely to be consumed than water. And I'm not one to pay $1.50 for a pint of water. Brita filters have always sufficed for me, but I just need to get the city-water tastes out.

I have never though about trying different waters. I just may have to give it shot.

[Tiare]

I`m a orchid grower and grow my plants in a large wardian case at home, so I have a reverse osmosis device and that water tastes very good and I use it to make ice as well. A bit odd maybe..but I have orchid growing friends who use it for tea and coffee and swear by it..so in our world its normal..:D

I wrote this in the essentials thread as well. I think that ice made with good water is important just as to drink good water, its quite a difference between waters..I don`t use reverse osmosis water exclusively but I also buy bottled water without carbo, just to get the minerals.

[Edward Hamilton]

Do you use tap water as your supply to your ro machine? There is a very big difference in the output between using sea water and water from your local supply in an ro machine.

[Tiare]

I live in the middle of Stockholm in an apartment so I use tap water. Luckily our tap water is quite soft.

[Edward Hamilton]

If your municipal supply is chlorinated even a few parts per million of chlorine will destroy the membrane, an expensive mistake.

[Tiare]

Well, hope not..but I think its safe, as some very experienced orchid growers here have used this method for at least 30 years with fantastic growing results that could not have been achieved with just tap water.Some of these growers are also very into the details with this.
Well..i`m not an expert on RO water but I believe it helps my plants and that it makes good ice for me..:D the difference in taste of this water versus the tap water is really big.

[forrest]

make love water clean

fresh spring waters build clean ice

blend booze find relish

[forrest]

make love water clean

fresh spring waters build clean ice

blend booze find relish

My Haiku killed the thread:

approach to redeem

seventeen dead syllables

summer comes to cure

[RobertBurr]

we've used R/O water filters for our aquarium for several decades with great success, so we also use it for drinking water. Every once in a while, I drink tap water and, although we have excellent water here, it reminds me of how clean our R/O water is. The filters must be replaced on a regular basis, and we're always testing the water for the aquarium to be assured that it's not tainted. I'm sure many people underestimate the value of very good water in making ice and in making spirits.

[Rum Runner]

For those not familiar with the jargon. I believe R/O refers to Reverse Osmosis as a way of purifying water. Often used by sailors and remote hikers. It's a way to produce a potable H2o from one that is not. Certain man made chemicals (like chlorine) can interrupt the filtering process. I'm not sure how Chloramine though, which is being employed in many USA communities now, may affect R/O.

[Tiare]

I only know that i must change my filter once a year and if the R/O machine has been not in use for a while, i need to fill a bucket first and empty it before refilling with pure water.

I`m not making all my ice with this, i`m too lazy for that, but i make some.

[The Scribe]

Hikers don't use reverse osmosis. The energy required for reverse osmosis is beyond what I'm willing to carry, and the filters doesn't hold up well to dirty water. We use charcoal or HEPA filters with a gravity feed, when we filter at all. There are a bunch of cool technologies that people are trying with things like ultraviolet and even other things. On the other hand there are also a lot lot of chemical treatments like chlorine dioxide that are quite popular.

Regardless, I don't mind the taste of my local water anymore, but when I first came to Boston I truly disliked it. I think however, drinking tap water is the best bet. The chlorination and minerals in tap water, at least in most big cities are quite healthy.

I find adding water, in general tends to make my spirits more buttery in texture, while adding ice tends to dull their flavour a bit. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Cheers. - S

[Rum Runner]

As you aptly point out Scibe, The technology has changed since my days of hiking and fishing the Sierra Nevada of California.

I believe much of Boston's water source comes from Quabbin Reservoir in the western part of the state.