Amy Edsell, director of sales and marketing for Icebox, gives you the cool ice hacks you need this festive season.

So, we’re about to enter crazy season and most importantly your Christmas shindig. The venue’s booked, menus have been chosen and music is a given, but have you thought about the drinks? A major part of the Christmas party, whether alcoholic or not, is the drinks. The right temperature and look for your bar and libation of choice is critical, so here are 10 hacks for you to use this Christmas:

  1. Use a mix of crushed ice and water in bins to chill bottles super quickly: for bottled beer this will take around 10 minutes, for wine 20 minutes. Don’t overload the bins, rather keep the bottles on rotation and then store them under the bar close to one another for quick access. Be careful not to over chill white wine, it ruins the ‘nose. – white wines should not go below 3 degrees. Each wine will have its own temperature (most say on the bottle), and use a wine thermometer to achieve the perfect pour.
  2. Clear ice cubes – made from high density carving ice, air is removed by freezing from one direction only and keeping the water moving allowing air bubbles to escape. These not only look classy but also melt much more slowly, so it doesn’t diminish the integrity of the drink. Why not get your logo engraved on each one for ultimate company cool factor? The MD will love it! Bespoke cubes of any size can also be created as per your brief, but 50ml is the Daddy of the moment.
  3. Bars made completely from ice – ok, so you want to put a pop-up bar somewhere and want to inject some ‘wow’ factor too. Clear ice bars, lit within the bar give a super-cool vibe to any event with or without a logo. Add flowers, fruit, bottles or even products to jazz it up.
  4. Bar blocks – want some theatre and interaction? Bar servers chipping away at huge blocks of ice brings the theatre of ice to your soiree. Not only do you get the entertainment, but also an assortment of shapes for guest’s drinks. Very stylish.
  5. Champagne buckets – ice buckets look super glamorous on a bar and have room for plenty of bottles of your favourite fizz, whilst of course keeping it perfectly chilled.
  6. Pimp your drink – adding flowers or herbs to cubes not only makes each glass look original, and also releases botanicals into the liquid, further enhancing the taste experience. Think gin and tonics with iced juniper berries, pink peppercorns or grapefruit, or sparkling water with purple pansies to bring some bling to your drink.
  7. Ice glasses – chill a shot of your tipple in a jiffy. Great for tequila, rum or even flaming sambuca shots – bottoms up!
  8. Branding – need company presence but don’t want to harm the planet or have something you need to store? Have a 3D logo any size you like, just for the few hours of your event. Perfect.
  9. Live carving – want to add mystery and ‘wow’ factor? Have a sculptor live carving your logo, product or theme at your event adding an ever-changing talking point of what the sculpture will end up as.
  10. Dry ice – the ultimate drama queen adding smoky, mystical glamour. A great addition to bars, sculptures and of course dance floors.