Best Ice Trays and Ice Molds for Better Drinks

The best ice trays and ice molds make drinks feel cleaner, colder, and more deliberate.

Bad ice can make a good drink feel rushed. Small cloudy cubes melt too fast, water things down too quickly, and make a drink feel more improvised than it should. Better ice does not need to be dramatic to matter. It just needs to keep the drink colder, cleaner, and a little more composed.

Best all-around choice: one good large-cube tray

A good large-cube tray is the easiest place to start. Large cubes help most with whiskey and soda, old-fashioned-style drinks, bitter drinks over ice, and anything where the glass should stay cold without getting loose too quickly.

Best for spritzes and tall drinks

Not every drink needs a giant cube. Tall drinks — G&Ts, tequila soda with lime, spritzes, bitters and soda — usually do better with regular cubes that can stack and chill the whole glass more evenly.

Best for drinks that should feel dressed

Sphere molds and oversized cube molds are slightly more about mood, but that does not make them pointless. They are good for whiskey-style drinks, after-dinner drinks, and anything where the glass should feel a little more deliberate.

What to buy first

Start with one tray that makes clean regular cubes and one tray or mold for larger cubes if you like spirit-style drinks. That covers most home use without taking over the freezer.

The right move is usually better ice, not more ice gear. Buy the shape that fits the drinks you already make most often.

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