The Islands of the Fraternal Order of Moai

I just came across this, and was curious if anyone had tried one of these. The price is rather high but I assume much lower then buying a restaurant grade ice maker? Looks like it could make perfect Tiki drink ice.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YF ... 1d6b1bfbee

Cheers!
--The Captain

I'd recommend an alternate approach ... chest freezers are much less expensive; once you have one you can make clear ice (which can be used in large cubes or crushed, as needed) as well as freezing other things.

As to the making of clear ice, I found several explanations online and the best one comes from the "Man Shit Monday" podcast on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5H2Opjql9g). I have followed this process with excellent results. I have more to say on this subject here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23676.

Good luck on your venture.

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For the money it is better to see if there are any establishments that will sell you pellet ice if doing a big party. I hit up Golden Chick in down town Round Rock. I know that some places Sonic will sell bags and I am pretty sure that Which Wich and a few others do as well. If I am just making stuff at home for me (only a few drinks) I bought a vintage motorized ice crusher which gives much more consistent shard size than the shitty ones on most fridges. If you look up Rival ice crusher on ebay you can find them for about $20-$30 for one in decent shape. Just my 2 cents

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I know a few tikiphiles who swear by them, but unless you're making 4-6 drinks a night it seems like pretty expensive overkill in my book.

A Dazey or Ice-O-Matic crusher is more my speed. Then again, I don't think I have the dedicated counter space for an Opal anyway.

Also, I've heard they need to be cleaned frequently or you can get all sorts of mold issues.

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“The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, the effect of which is like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.”

We have one of these and absolutely LOVE it! Patiki suggested we try one and we are so glad we did. We no longer use the refrigerator icemaker at all. This works so much better. If you are patient you can find deals on them too...If you have Tiki Home Bar and an electrical Outlet, this is a great way to go for ice! I highly recommend!!

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The Creative Adult is the Child Who Survived...

It ain't cheap, but it's a cheap thrill to have that soft chewy ice in every glass you drink. It's a bit loud (fan noise) so if you have an open kitchen design you might want to find another place for it. It takes an hour or so to completely fill the hopper. If you are going to have a party just start emptying the hopper into a bag in your freezer a day in advance to store up. You WILL want the additional side reservoir, trust me. As the ice in the hopper melts, the water gets recirculated back into ice. The ice texture is such you will never need to grind or crush ice for your cocktails again. Ours has been running nonstop in the kitchen almost a year now without any problems. You can't buy bagged ice with this type of texture. It's that chewy stuff you just can't stop munching on when you get a soda in a restaurant. Perfect ice for perfect cocktails.

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Yeah, It's not on my "gotta haves list" for sure since there are easy options for bags of pellet ice nearby. I was more or less just curious what others had experienced with this gadget as it seemed like an interesting solution for folks.

Awesome, thank you for the advice, I'll look into it! Sounds like a fun adventure into learning something new!

Sounds like it's a winner if you have the space/cash and outlet. Good to hear yours is working well for you and you really enjoy it! Thank for the info!

Mahalo!

Are you appliance shaming the Doc?

You asked the question about something that is expensive, needs electric current and takes up kitchen space. Why the "oh, that's very nice if you can afford/fit/power it?"

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Set a course for the Foc's'le Lounge!

Excrementus Cadaemus

The Duchess loves the pearl ice they serve down at the broken shaker.

I might have to consider this.

I do love big clear ice in my Old Fashioned, Boulevardier, Black Manhattan, etc.

...so many kinds of ice!

At the Aviary in Chicago, they have a chef position entirely dedicated to ice.

Hhehe, I wonder what that person is called? "Ice Master in Chief"?

Am I the only person that doesn't care about ice? If there's frozen water keeping my drink cold, the configuration matters not a whit to me.

Sacrilege, I know. This is why rev_thumper is in charge of things like this.

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A toast to my friends Roger, Rob, and Rugby Matt. Aloha au iā ‘oe.

I, fortunately, have a Sonic drive-in right down the street and can get a bag of the "good ice" for $2.99! (I also have a Waring Pro Ice Crusher that does the trick as well when I don't have Sonic Ice!

https://www.amazon.com/Waring-IC70-Prof ... 9d95c82244

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FYI: The Opal is on sale right now for $465.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YF9SGBW

This is the lowest price its ever been according to camelcamelcamel

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It has already been mentioned but Sonic has good ice, not sure if they sell bags or not! But if you have any in your area, you might inquire.

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"Your humanity is cost effective."

Whenever my fridge eventually dies, I want one of these that makes large round cocktail ice.

https://www.lg.com/us/discover/instavie ... /craft-ice

I don't make too much in the way of mixed drinks at home, as I don't have the patience to make all of the fresh juices and syrups, and then toss them when they eventually go bad. My go-to drinks at home, have been very spirit forward basically a nice rye or scotch on the rocks, or a gin martini (which I prefer on the rocks). There are several different scotches that have been aged in rum barrels and they're super yummy!!

Because my fridge ice maker died, I now keep 3 ice cube trays in the freezer - all the big ice cubes. I haven't gone through all that's required to make them perfectly clear. I do typically use water that I've boiled in my hot water kettle, a few times.

One of the trays is also dedicated to coconut water ice cubes. They make rum extra yummy. My favorite is the coconut water ice cube with Plantation Pineapple Rum.

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Poop jokes are always funny.

When you start getting into that price range for a consumer unit, some of the small commercial ice makers start looking economic.

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Set a course for the Foc's'le Lounge!

Excrementus Cadaemus

I just noticed Kristy's post. LOLZ! I don't think about ice very often either and am pretty well satisfied with my blender and crank-operated crusher. Ice shells, cones & other sculpural touches are interesting though.

I will concede that my bar's mini fridge doesn't hold much ice, so I took Paniolo Paul's advice on the chest freezer purchase. Wow, what a game changer! Now I can hoard meats, store bumper crops and keep bags of ice for some future era when visitors stop by again.

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The prices on these seem to be a lot higher now than they were a year ago... like a LOT higher...I was seeing them on ebay for $300 new in box...Maybe its close to the holidays now so the prices are higher.

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The Creative Adult is the Child Who Survived...