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albert_135

What is a ideal temperature for party ice for drinks?

Some ice is colder than other ice.

We wondered what was a good temperature for party ice for drinks?

Comments (7)

  • lindac
    17 years ago

    The coldest ice you can find...it all warms up eventually.
    Please tall me you are joking!!!

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    ...that is cold enough to freeze the drink. That is too cold. I'm guessing that -40°F is too cold. I am not sure about -10°F.

  • carla35
    17 years ago

    Ice is ice...take the stuff from your freezer.

    If you really must, you may want to experiment with the shape of the cubes you are using. The smaller ones or ice chips may melt too quickly and water down drinks, but other than that, I wouldn't concern yourself with the temp. of ice.

  • lindac
    17 years ago

    Where are you going to get minus 40 ice?
    Most ice will be zero...but if it has been sitting out for a while it can get as warm as 32 degrees....which won't cool drinks as fast as zero degree ice.
    If you fill a glass full to the brim with small cubes of zero degree ice and pour a little say lemonade into it...the lemonade will freeze around the ice fopr s short period and then all will melt.
    If you pour alcohol onto the ice the booze will melt the ice.
    What are you trying to do? Ice in your freezer is zero if your freezer is working right....and also from a commercial ice place. The only place youa re going to get super cold ice is from some place that flash freezes for commercial purposes.
    I still think you are pulling our collective legs.
    Linda C

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    This discussion originated out by a pool in Scottsdale. A friends grandkid at University of Alaska, Fairbanks had mentioned that they put ice cube trays outside and got ice so cold it would freeze a coke. He guessed that tempertures might have been about -40°F. He was resonably sure it was not one of those -70° nights.

    I recalled reading that Bud Ice was made by freezing beer and the freezing process took some of the water out of the alcohol solution. I knew from my years in Alaska that natural freezing would squeeze the salt from see water making rather pure icebergs.

    And after more drinks, it occurred to us that come next January we could get some -40°F ice as a gag and play party pranks with it. We would really like to take some -40°F ice to Burning Man but we cannot figure out how to get it in August.

    The original, the more searous question was, the colder the better up to some point but just how cold was too cold?

  • lindac
    17 years ago

    Well...it may have been the Scottsdale sun....but the lowest recorded temp in Fairbanks ( according to Science Forum) was -67....and -20 is more usual.
    I suppose that Fairbanks ice on a really cold day would freeze a coke.
    As for ice beer and ice wine....doesn't take a lot to freeze the alcohol out. 20 is good enough.
    Remembering years ago at a northeastern college (which shall be nameless!!) Hanging the cider jug, which had been laced with a box of raisins and sitting in the back of a closet all fall, outside the 3rd floor window to freeze and pouring off the pure alcohol which hung in the bottom of the jug.
    As to what is too cold? Depends on the ratio of booze to ice cubes.
    Maybe you are spending too much time in that desert sun....come up north where there is snow up to here and it's going to 0 tonight....then you'll think about how hot is too hot for coffee!
    Linda C

  • Meghane
    17 years ago

    I used dry ice for punch at a Halloween party. I ended up with Halloween slushies. So I have to say that dry ice is too cold. Melting ice is too warm. Anything in the middle is fine.

    I have also had beer slushies. When my friend first got 2 kegs, he put them in a chest freezer he wasn't using any more. They froze at the warmest setting. So he put a timer on the freezer so it didn't stay running all the time. Beer slushies are not tasty. I've also frozen beer outside, and it wasn't nearly that cold. I know it wasn't that cold because I would simply die. Probably something like 0 degrees F, but certainly not -40!