Sophisticated Smoked Ice

This cocktail ice adds a rich, smokey flavor to beverages rather than watering them down over time.

This recipe for smoked ice comes from the Steamboat Bay Fishing Club in Alaska. After a cold day of ice fishing, a glass of whiskey is the perfect way to warm up. The fishing club's chef Katherine Cook invented this cocktail ice recipe to ensure that a tumbler of whiskey can be nursed by the fire without sacrificing its smokey flavor.

To make the specialty cocktail ice, apple wood chips are soaked in water, gathered in a pan and then placed directly onto a bed of coals. Then, a pan of fresh water is placed on a grill on top of the smoking chips. The water absorbs the flavor of the wood smoke. The water must then be filtered using a coffee filter to remove any ash or debris. Finally, of course, the water is frozen into beautifully flavored smoked ice.