Merits of barware

[arctan]

If you're in Boston, check out Adam at The Boston Shaker.  He's got a great selection of barware, bitters, etc., and a willingness to find it for you if he doesn't have it.

If you're not in Boston, well, bug him to get his webstore up and running...

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i got a price list from him. i wish i had a place like that around here!

[arctan]

I have used the spherical ice trays and the produce horrible ice.  Apparently ice is not meant to freeze in a sphere.  The best sphere i've seen comes from the japanese sphere maker that you can see on youtube and their web site.  It costs too much for anything over 30mm though.  One day....

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I use the SFMOMA ice sphere molds - I think they work pretty well. Are these the ones you're talking about and why don't you like the ice?

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i was looking at the SFMOMA ones as well. they seem rather expensive for what they are though. does the ice come out as well as the ice in their photo?

[newbie21]

The spheres that I've seen at the Bradstreet Crafthouse come out quite nicely. They are not perfectly clear as I've seen in some pictures off the various websites, but have unique and beautiful patterns inside of the sphere. They definitely held their shape throughout the cocktail, i.e., didn't crack or break apart. They're using a Japanese model.

Edited March 23, 2009 by newbie21 (log)

[slkinsey]

The Taisin ice ball maker (I hesitate to call it a "mold" since it creates the sphere by melting already-frozen ice) won't make a clear sphere unless the ice you start with is already clear. Right now, I'm not aware of any practical ice maker that makes clear ice in the size required to make a fist-sized ice sphere.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have been using a tulip shaped 4 oz port glass that offers a generous 2 1/4 inches at the mouth. Have yet to test with port but it works wonderfully for rum.

Edit: actually "tulip shaped" may be the wrong term. The glass is wider at its mouth than at any other point:

Edited January 1, 2014 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This whole thread is of great interest to me, however my specific question tonight is what would one use for a "stem punch glass"? Which a recipe for whiskey punch I made last night called for. For lack of anything more specific I used

http://images.replacements.com/images/images5/crystal/B/baccarat_sully_water_goblet_P0000004275S0002T2.jpg

...that I purchased from replacements.com. The size worked out about right, even though the piece is supposed to be a water goblet. Most punch glasses I have seen do not have stems.

[ChrisTaylor]

I use a Glencairn for rum unless I'm serving it in cocktail form.

[gfweb]

I have been using a tulip shaped 4 oz port glass that offers a generous 2 1/4 inches at the mouth. Have yet to test with port but it works wonderfully for rum.

Edit: actually "tulip shaped" may be the wrong term. The glass is wider at its mouth than at any other point:

Nice photo

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I've been using a Kotobuki Sphere Ice Ball Tray for 2.5 inch round ice. The Kotbuki has worked really well after the second try. However today I saw this new product blogged by umamimart:

 

http://umamimart.com/2014/02/ice-ball-machine/