High end cocktails aren’t just about using top shelf liquors. Presentation factor – both while making the drink and the final look of the cocktail – is key. One of the easiest ways to up-level an adult beverage without having to hire a flair bartender is to use fancy ice cubes. Large, square ice cubes were all the rage but they have a new competitor: sphere ice. Sphere ice cubs give drinks a unique, cosmopolitan look, but without a sphere ice cube maker, they’re not easy to come by.

Learn all about sphere ice cubes and how you can be ready to utilize specialty ice to round up the sophistication of your establishment’s drinks. We’ll introduce you to the line of Hoshizaki commercial ice makers that produce sphere cubes.

Ice-Shaped Balls for Bars and Restaurants

Sphere ice is preferred for whiskey drinks due to its slow-melting properties, which has led to it sometimes being called whiskey ice balls. For years bartenders who served sphere balls had to utilize a tedious device called a Japanese ice press, which caused ice to melt into a round shape over time.

Now more bars and restaurants are investing in sphere ice ball makers, which can product up to 50 pounds of sphere ice per day. The ice then awaits usage in a commercial ice bin. These incredible ice machines eliminate hours of molding and waiting time by producing perfect, round ice automatically. This is important, because sphere ice is more than a good-looking cube. Ice balls offer several benefits to bars and restaurants.

Longer Lasting Coolness with Sphere Ice Cubes

Sphere ice melts more slowly due to its density and size. This is critical for fans of whiskey, scotch, and other high-end liquor for whom too much dilution can ruin an expensive or rare beverage. However, a small amount of water (especially in the form of slowly melting ice) can bring out a broader and deeper range of flavors in fine spirits, which makes sphere ice balls preferred over metal cubes, whiskey stones, and plastic ice cubes. Also cubes simply look cooler.

Furthermore, these cocktails aren’t meant be sucked down like a post-work Budweiser. They are savored slowly, and thus slow-melting ice is critical. Round cubes melt even slower than square cubes making them an ideal choice.

A sphere ice ball will melt slower than a square ice cube of the same size. Here’s why: a sphere ice ball doesn’t sit flat in the cup, thus in a single or double pour, less of the ice cube actually touches the liquor. The less of the warmer liquid touching this type of ice, the less melting occurs.

Fuller Looking Glasses with Sphere Ice Cubes

Sphere ice is both larger than square ice and due to its shape, it displaces more liquid, making a glass look more full. Since customers always want to feel like they’re getting a good value for their money, they will be pleased when their glass arrives looking full. Bartenders will be thrilled to never have to hear a customer complain about an under-filled glass, and bar owners will love the dual benefit of customer satisfaction and increased profits.

Reduced Profit Loss with Sphere Ice Cubes

In the restaurant industry, where it’s common for a business not to be profitable for the first five years, every penny counts. In bars, cocktail lounges, and clubs, every drop counts too. Most people would be surprised to know that round ice actually saves business owners money.

Square ice cubes have jagged edges, meaning liquor and other liquids poured onto them is more likely splash out of the glass, requiring additional beverage to achieve the right pour amount. When liquid is poured onto round shaped ice, such as sphere ice or crescent ice, it neatly streams over the ice and into the glass. This small savings adds up over every pour, ultimately saving the bar owner profits that would have been lost due to splashing or spillage.

Leading industrial ice machine manufacturers know the value of preserving profits through efficiency. That’s why Hoshizaki developed their signature crescent ice.

Efficiently Get Sphere Ice with an Ice Ball Maker

Sphere ice is a favorite of everyone from high-end liquor connoisseurs to bar owners to anyone who appreciates a unique cocktail or even mocktail. Slow-melting, aesthetically pleasing, splash resistant, and now easy to produce with a sphere ice cube maker, round ice is here to stay!

It’s never been easier to give your customers the round ice they want with a sphere ball maker . In addition to square ice cube makers, bars, restaurants, lounges, distilleries, and other establishments can now have a steady supply of sphere ice from round ice machines. This is a much more efficient way to offer customers the ice they desire than the old method of using molds or Japanese presses.

For example, the IM-50BAA-Q from Hoshizaki produces 50 pounds (500 spheres) of 1.8″ diameter ice balls. At just under 40 inches tall,  this sphere ice ball maker was designed to fit easily under a bar or counter or in another small space and consistently supply bartenders with the ice they need without a barback having to haul it up.

Among the top of the line machines we offer in our lease program, our customers have access to the Hoshizaki IM-50BAA-Q. Just like automatic sphere ice makers are revolutionary and convenient compared to old methods of making round ice, our commercial ice maker lease program is simple, easy, and one of a kind. Through one low monthly payment, our lease customers receive a top-of-the-line ice maker, free maintenance, professional cleanings, repairs, access to a 24/7 customer support line, and back-up ice as necessary.

Are you considering a sphere ice ball maker for your bar or restaurant? Contact us for a quote today!