@carmen89: I think that's a little ageist to say you'd have to be drunk to bang a 200yo.

What if he had time-warped or been cryogenically frozen and still looked like an in-shape 140?

GeekyNerdGuy

Hello, party pooper here...

There is a fallacy in this:
"The best ice consists of quality water and is shaped in such a way that it does not take up much surface area-which ensures that your drink does not get watered down prematurely."

BUT... the less surface area, the less you are going to cool down your product.
And that my friends, is physics 101.

The ideal ice cube would be the one with the most surface area and least amount of water... Like a SPONGE ice cube (my guess... they are very hard to make).
It would melt almost instantly transfering all the latent heat of the ice to the liquid fast enough that heat from the outside glass would not counter act the cooling effect of the ice, thus getting your drink chilled quick with the most amount of ice as possible.

Next time try a glass of water with ice cubes and with crushed ice. Which one chills faster?

The ice balls are cool though.... and they would last longer than regular ice cubes. (the perfect sphere would have the least amount of surface per volume).

Now, if they could only make them hollow to fill with gin or vodka.... hummmm.

:)

aec007

@GeekyNerdGuy: What I don't get is I can have sex with anyone at 18...he could be 200 years old (i'd have to be hammered to the highest heavens in space) and nothing would be illegal. I could pay for a million websites of porn like rape fetishes and feet fetishes and incest fetishes but I can't take a few shots of mr. Jack Daniels...bastards!

carmen89

@GeekyNerdGuy: Bah. I don't drink to get drunk anyway. I just like the taste.

I've never actually been drunk. Just one or two beers at a time.

Atsumi

Those are some really clear ice balls. I thought if you just used distilled water you didn't get any bubbles. I've tried it, I know. Do any of you know how to get crystal clear ice with other methods?

whiteknight

Listen to all these underage drinkers.

Ladies, you have so much to experience and explore ...

Of course for me, it still all comes back to cheap tequila shots, Jack on the (not-round) rocks, and Bud Light.

GeekyNerdGuy

@Atsumi: I have a '65 Mustang Fastback and a case of Guinness. If you're interested. ;P

spectator101

OK. Nobody cares about my IcePod. Fine.

If you want the good Guiness, you have to go to Dublin. And no drink is better than a local beer in Germany especially at a beer garden.

William

welp, i think we pretty much trashed this one up.

shamoononon

Someone buy me some Sam Adam's Utopias. I have a feeling beer won't be pansy next to Whiskey and Scotch after that.

Atsumi

@workingonyourinvoice: Hey, what's wrong with a girl that drive s a truck... I have a feeling you just drive a focus.

shamoononon

...wait that didn't sound right
like
al bundy
not like play with ...nevermind

carmen89

Give me a fast car and some beer and watch me put my hand down my pants :D

carmen89

@Sh3rpa:

AMEN, brother!!

Guinness, while wonderful stuff, is pansy stuff next to a good glass of whiskey.

yelraf

@workingonyourinvoice:

focus

that's what I meant.

flyboy

@flyboy: NO no no, I was the guy that stores everything in a fallout bunker, no bank can withstand the apocalypse. And I'm happily engaged to a beer drinking, truck driving... Wait a minute... NOOOO!!!

(in all seriousness, she drinks margaritas, martinis, and cosmos, and drives a focus)

workingonyourinvoice

Your friends will have laughed and gone home before the first ball's emerged

Captain_Awesome

I get the feeling that most gizmodo readers are beer drinkers. Yet, I get the feeling that most gizmodo writers go for appletinis.

Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

GeekyNerdGuy

@nutbastard: Metaphorical my #$%. We know you like the double tea bagging.

shamoononon

@workingonyourinvoice:

"Girls that drink beer and drive trucks are TROUBLE."

um, wtf do you think im looking for? anything less than trouble is boring : )

nutbastard (is single now, ladies)

@Sh3rpa: Had a wild turkey and ice preceded by shiner bocks at a daedelus show in austin on saturday. Mmm...

workingonyourinvoice

@workingonyourinvoice

they might be men with man boobs?:

you should get your eyesight checked. Too much computer screens and data storage runs down to the bank ...

flyboy

@workingonyourinvoice: I would never drive a truck. So I'm safe. (Get me near a classic American muscle car though...)

@nutbastard: And ice balls.

Atsumi

pansy!??!?!? beer?!?!??!?!?

i love me some beer, but there aint nothing more manly than a glass of whiskey or scotch.

where are your grandaddys right now? learn from em!

Sh3rpa

@nutbastard: Careful, girls that know well enough to entice us with beer drinking are almost always dangerously clever. I always remain extra cautious around girls drinking beer. Especially if they drive a truck. Girls that drink beer and drive trucks are TROUBLE.

workingonyourinvoice

What? This will not make a better drink... This just makes nifty looking ice balls to impress guests.

The amount of turbulence, the thing that actually makes your drink cold, is the same thing that waters down the drink... What you want is rough, coarsely shaped ice that will let you chill the drink FAST so that you can pour it before the ice melts. By minimizing surface area, you're going to maximize shaking required, watering your drinks down MORE. Not to mention shaking this in a steel or glass shaker will probably smash the ball to bits anyways.

SecretAsianMan

@Atsumi:
It's an extreme turn on for some reason. It says "this girl right here - this girl has balls"

Metaphorical balls, not, you know, balls balls.

nutbastard (is single now, ladies)

+ Watch video

I have a patent pending on an "IcePod"

It's a ice mold that allows any 3-d shape probably done with over-molding.

[holdenart.com]

1. No spillage from sink to freezer.
2. No flavor transfers.
3. Flat surface not necessary (as with ice trays).

William

@Denver_80203: You have to constantly agitate the water to prevent bubbles from staying. Used for ice sculptures and overpriced ice cubes.

DaOtter

@sfokevin: Seriously! The ice maker in my basement is the size of a small fridge. (Which it what I thought it was when I first saw it)

@nutbastard: Flattering. Every time I mention I drink Guinness on the internet, I get proposed to. THE BEER IS THE WOMAN. :P

Atsumi

@Atsumi:

"I'd take a Guinness (Extra Stout) over "fancy" cocktails any day."

seriously. marry me.

nutbastard (is single now, ladies)

Which size works best as a projectile?

GeekyNerdGuy

Why no bubbles in the ice? I didn't think that was possible. Most advertisements with zero bubble ice are actually using plastic

Denver_80203

@Kaiser-Machead: Go read Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds if you haven't already.

workingonyourinvoice

One cube?... Great if you drink alone I guess...

sfokevin

does anyone else enjoy the pressure melt effect on squeezing their teeth on an ice cube?

must be same effect as that and ice blades, etc...

flyboy

@shamoononon: Agreed.

I'd take a Guinness (Extra Stout) over "fancy" cocktails any day.

Atsumi

this is FAB

flyboy

I see this, and I see ammunition that disappears without a trace, other than the bruises of course.

Kaiser-Machead

Great Balls of Ice!

apart from that I got nothing

Groggy Banana

Now you just need this water.

Atsumi

Don't want your drinks watered down?...Drink faster.
I don't need to drink to have a good time...I just need to drink.

DocHoliday

I've needed balls to drink some of the shit I've imbibed in the past.

scarbrtj

Man...Do I enjoy a smooth big ball around my mouth.
....
..
I'll take a beer

carmen89

Oh, what a pansy item. BEER!!

shamoononon

do they have molds that do more than one at once?

takemetoyourtoaster

Those balls look as smooth as eggs.

TOWken22

amazing. i want one.

cloudnine

@nutbastard: Dude, throw up that cuddly, clean-shaven picture you sported briefly a few weeks ago. They'll be all over that.

Although you seem to be doing fine as the "bad boy."

GeekyNerdGuy

@GeekyNerdGuy: No, it isn't that bad.

Atsumi

@nutbastard: i wonder if gizmodo hates me,lol.

carmen89

@carmen89: I laugh at toilet humor AND sex.

I'm cool like that.

Atsumi

@Atsumi: Oh yeah, and doesn't your state have the 4 point beer like Oklahoma and Kansas?

It takes a lot of beer in those states.

GeekyNerdGuy

@nutbastard:
and how my avatar gets me into this conversation i do not know (i just HAD to use the foulest picture of myself, didn't I?)

nutbastard

@shamoononon:

you're just feeling left out because these girls have their fine selves as avatars to flaunt - your avatar appears to be some sort of blow up doll circa 1974.

nutbastard

@nutbastard: i've dated older, not as old as 200 though,lol.
Oddly enough I really never need anyone of age to get me kegs, or liqour or into bars. I get in just fine with my FAKE I.D :D hahaha i'm 5w337, r19h7?!

@shamoononon: I like sex...sex is one of my favorite things...however fart jokes are not, I don't ever laugh when someone passes gas and I NEVER ask for more when someone does...sex though i do all the above:)

@GeekyNerdGuy: I didn't know you were 200....aren't you tired of life by now? really wtf are you waiting for? lol

carmen89

@shamoononon: We're just at the drinking talk ... which eventually leads to the sex talk ... which eventually leads to the awkward no talking for a couple weeks ... which eventually leads to the I-think-I'm-pregnant-talk ... which leads back to the drinking talk.

GeekyNerdGuy

@carmen89: Don't feel bad ... it's not like you're the first 18-year-old to tell me that.

GeekyNerdGuy

Call me the party pooper, but the sex talk is getting to be a bit too much. Fart jokes... never get old.

shamoononon

@carmen89:
"Damn straight, who wants to come over for a kegger?!"

um... I do! (please be bay area, please be bay area)

AND at 23 years old, I can supply the keg and not be too creepy when i hit on you : )

nutbastard

@GeekyNerdGuy: I appreciate that. I'll keep charging ahead now even if I have to starve my family.

William

@nutbastard (is single now, ladies): Not everywhere. I know in my state it's legal if it's supplied by your parents or guardian, in your home, under their supervision.

Atsumi

@GeekyNerdGuy: too bad
i don't want to bang basically what is a corpse. :)@nutbastard: Damn straight, who wants to come over for a kegger?!

carmen89

@William: Dude, I'm sure your ice pod thing is totally awesome.

GeekyNerdGuy

Also available is a slightly larger model specially designed to produce weapons grade plutonium cores!

GiltProto

Mr. and Mrs. dmccall
kindly accept
Dr. Heimlich's
kind invitation for
Friday, May 9th

dmccall

@Atsumi: I think you're doing it wrong ...

GeekyNerdGuy

@carmen89:
you can in your home. perfectly legal.

nutbastard

@Atsumi:

"I don't drink to get drunk anyway. I just like the taste."

I drink for the taste, too, I just like to taste it 7 or 8 times in a day, which happens to get me slightly buzzed, which is unfortunate because who wants to be drunk, right? right?

Ok you got me i do drink to get drunk but only because... ok you got me, i don't know why. Here's to not confronting ones flaws!

*clink*

nutbastard

yelraf: "Guinness, while wonderful stuff, is pansy stuff next to a good glass of whiskey"

Actually, a Guinness next to a good glass of whisky is a great way to start the evening…

aec007: "The ideal ice cube would be the one with the most surface area and least amount of water... Like a SPONGE ice cube"

Or no water at all…. I can't seem to find a link now, but there is a product called "Scotch on the Rocks" which are 4 polished marble cubes that you place in your freezer, and then into your libation of choice. Too expensive, but can be easily reproduced if you have some skills.

SSRPaulO

I just now noticed the baseball shaped on on the website, and the soccer ball one Gizmodo posted here.

That's rad!

Atsumi

@One2ManyCords: i'd totally put blue food coloring on these things...aaah the looks and giggles on peoples faces and out their mouths:)

carmen89

@carmen89: agreed. fart jokes are good though.
...sometimes.

@nutbastard: yeah that clean picture of you was weird. i like the badass nutbastard.

I'd rock an icesphere. i don't drink though. i'd say that it is much cooler to drink scotch and martinis hollywood- RATPACK/ HEFNER style.
all of a sudden that reminds me of lost in translation.

oo0cyst0oo

ice ball fight!!!!

Sheemo44

@GeekyNerdGuy: Probably because the stuff in Europe contained that chemical.

@Milo.Stone: Thanks. :D

Atsumi

Maybe when you buy this you can make your self a pair. Wiskey and beer chases!

vertigo

@Atsumi: Really? It seems like I remember being told we couldn't bring it back to the U.S. a few years back.

Of course, most of the stuff in Europe isn't "real" absinthe. It's very hard to find the actual hallucinogenic wormwood stuff.

GeekyNerdGuy

@Atsumi: Thujone

Milo.Stone

@SecretAsianMan: I think the point isn't to add these to a shaker, but to be the "rocks" that the drink is served over. In that case, the lower surface area will be a boon in keeping the drink cool without watering the drink down.

Milo.Stone

@jonahman2003: I DO!

carmen89

'Cords says: One who freezes balls and shakes is bound to give them a cyanic hue. OUCH!

Cordfucious

Cordfucious

@GeekyNerdGuy: Absinthe is legal in all of the US, I thought. There's just a certain chemical it can't contain too much of. (I can't remember what it was)

Actually, I remember reading about it on one of the Gawker media sites (maybe Consumerist) like a week ago.

Atsumi

@Atsumi: Wow. MO actually has some pretty interesting alcohol laws.

Apparently absinthe is legal, and although purchasing, possesion and intoxication by minors is prohibited, consumption isn't -- if that makes any sense at all.

[en.wikipedia.org]

GeekyNerdGuy

o ya thats exactaly what i want, balls in my mouth

jonahman2003

Whoa. I think I need this for my photo thesis next year. How the hell can I buy them?

Tommasta

@shamoononon: ok i'm not saying no one farts ok it's natural. What i'm saying is fart jokes are just plain lame to me, we get it smelly body odor HA HA HA. I'm not gonna divorice or leave whoever i'm with over something natural but don't expect me to get on my knees and find you attractive knowing you were asking me to pull your finger earlier

carmen89

@shamoononon: err, fart. Is there really two hours left until I go home? Wow, poor Gizmodo.

shamoononon

@carmen89:@shamoononon: Wait until your significant other hits 30... I'd like to see how far proof you are then.

shamoononon

@Atsumi: haha yes you are cool...i'd rather lack the appreciation for fart jokes and make up for it with sex :)

carmen89

forget that, i want the mold that makes the Ice beer glass, kind of the best of both worlds....

seriously, i want one

corhou99

Cordfucious: Not to mention make you friends…

SSRPaulO

@carmen89: Cords says:
Ahh a mouth full of blue balls would prove quite the comical gesture.

Cordfucious

I don't get it.

oopl

Is this a problem? While it is true that in 3 dimensions, the sphere minimizes surface area to volume ratio, this also minimizes heat transfer from the drink to the ice, meaning that this is also the least effective ice at cooling your drink.

So, do you want your drink ice cold now, or do you just want it kind of cold for a long time? If so, why not just chill the damned drink, or shaker it with some ice?

I accept the 'cool' factor of having ice balls in your drink, but I don't think you can justify this in any practical sense. Good quality cubed ice will rapidly approach a spheroid shape when placed in a beverage, achieving a close enough effect (given the amount of heat exchange, and the size of the thermal reservoir in question).

ludwigk

@SSRPaulO: Friends who orally embrace balls are friends you should keep for life

Cordfucious

Cordfucious

@Atsumi: When it comes to Absinthe, if it doesn't have Thujone, it's not worth drinking. Absinthe that contains Thujone is illegal in the US and you can't bring it into the country if it's over a certain concentration, they typically just say you can't bring Absinthe of any kind into the country in order to avoid hassles/confusion. That said it is legal up in BC (not sure about the rest of Canada).

It should also be noted that the legend of Absinthe making you Hallucinate is greatly exaggerated. In order for that to work you have to drink just enough over just the right period of time, drink too much or too fast and you'll just be drunk, a weird drunk but still just drunk. If you don't drink enough or you drink too slowly, you won't feel anything. Even if you do get it just right my experience has been that it's a pretty mild thing, you wouldn't want to drive (which you shouldn't be doing anyway) but it's not like the walls are chasing you.

Also:
Utopias is yummy.
Guiness is great.
But I'll still take a 30 year cask strength Glenn Turret Scotch over any other drink.

something_unique_and_descriptive

@Cordfucious: lmaooooooo ohh man specially if it was the largest size

carmen89

Now that's pretty damned cool

Munch

@TOWken22:

I see what you did there.

Jules Winfield

Ice dodecahedrons or straight up, beetches!!

strider_mt2k

Why the hate on ice for drinks? There are few things manlier than a good scotch or bourbon. Beer's great too, but c'mon!

karmaghost

@ everyone saying they would rather have a beer

I would look much more badass with my glass of $400 dollar scotch with crazy ice spheres in it. Thats some baller shit

Rizzuh

@Cordfucious: haha and why is that?

@Rizzuh: badass? or retarded? i'd go with the latter.

YO CHECK OUT MAH CRIB IM SINGLE BUT YO I GOT REAL DIAMOND WALLPAPA B.C IM ON SOME BALLA STATUS SHIT IIGHT?! YA DIG?! I'M SUCH A BALLA I SHIT DIAMONDS!
oh chapelle hahah

carmen89

@carmen89: you my dear are at the top of the lifelong friend list

Cordfucious

@something_unique_and_descriptive: I've never actually tried Utopias. But the price tag, and the fact it's Sam Adams intrigues me.

But I'll probably never get to try it. :(

Atsumi

@carmen89: Woman with large oral orifice and accompanying skill set is always welcome in the temple.

Cordfucious

@Cordfucious: shit...i'd be like
ghandi if that was the case,lol.

carmen89

Sorry, because of the weird URI, the Instructables link is broken. Here's a TinyURL link to the correct page: [tinyurl.com]

Evil Timmy

If you've got good scotch on hand...you're a pansy and a fool if you drink it with ice. Mediocre scotch, bourbon, and whisky need it to cover up the charred, gasoline-y flavor (I'm looking at you, Jack Daniels). If I'm sipping on Oban or Talisker (which I am, right now), it's either neat or with a small amount of mineral water, which brings out the flavor because the alcohol isn't overwhelming your taste buds. For an easy way to make clear ice, boil your water twice before freezing: check out [www.instructables.com]!/
Finally, the one purpose I can see for making ice like this is a good long drink in a tall glass, like a Long Island Iced Tea. It's already cold because it's been shaken, so the ice balls will keep it cold longer, which makes sense for a drink that'll sit around longer than most, and would definitely add to the presentation.

Evil Timmy

Heh, beaten.

Anjow

If you have a really good 'scotch' on hand, surely you wouldn't want ice in it?

Anjow

Ya crazy people, no serious Scotch drinker would put *ice* in their single malt. Sure, a little bit just to break it but ice doesn't get anywhere near a good whiskey. That's how you know you're around a rookie, like the kids that try biting the ends off their cigars.

SimianJones

When i drink...i drink outta the bottle or outta the can..sometimes outta the keg!
enough of this art form of drinking and lets get drunk!

carmen89

@SimianJones:
By the way, I agree, so replace the "$400 a shot single malt" with something appropriate. Like really expensive Coke, with gold in it...and diamonds...a just a bit of rhodium too!

Bitstuff

It's an age-old truth that girls like talking about themselves. A lot. Go on, let them have their fun.

Back to the balls: you can get the gizmo from "japantrends" on eBay for US $1300. That's insane. Although I would really want one, it would only be for the coolness (pun intended!) and novelty factor, going right next to my green laser and the soon-to-arrive NeoCube and it's little grub. I can see, however, this making a nice visual impact on the professional level of bartending; but that's really it. Unless of course, you can afford $400 a shot single malt on a regular basis and someone to press the ice spheres for you.

Bitstuff

@SecretAsianMan:

I don't think you get what this is for, this is not for ice to be used in a mixed drink. For mixed drinks the best way to go is a block of bubbly ice and an ice pick.

Spheres of ice are perfect for people who like proper drinks, like single malt Scotch, but have not yet worked up the courage to drink them neat. In this case you want ice that will get the drink cold but not water it down and ruin the flavor, which a spher eis perfect for.

CrushDigital

First drink I had in Tokyo was at a bar called the Hermit Bar. Scotch was served with a perfectly clear, perfectly round ball of ice. The ice fit so well into the glass that the scotch had to squeeze around the edges to get to the bottom of the glass. I thought "Cool, they have an ice machine that makes ice spheres!" Wrong. When the bartender was not pouring drinks he would pull a smoking-cold chunk of ice out of the freezer and hand carve it into a sphere.

I cheated, though. Went to Tokyo Hands and got a four-cavity ice tray that has two halves that squeezed together to make a spherical mold.

Bourbon and Scotch get cold enough using a sphere that the thermal transfer rate isn't really an issue. As you drink such refined liquors, however, the taste slowly changes as different esters become more prominent during dilution. This is actually one of the attractions of good barrel-aged spirits.

Through trial and error, I found that to get the ice perfectly clear you start by boiling very pure water. Then, immediately freeze it. Boiling the water forces out all of the disolved gasses. Pure water eliminates mineral content (that can cause cloudiness) and also keeps the taste of impurities in the water from ruining the beverage.

Opie

All jokes aside I think those things would be a choke hazard- and I don't mean for kids.

funkydude101