Crystal-Clear Ice Cube Maker - Large 2 Inch Whiskey Ice Cubes, Square Silicone Mold Maker Tray

Okay, so I am one that really enjoys the little things in life. Clear ice happens to be one of them. I love when I go out to eat and my whiskey on the rocks come with a single large cube or ball. I thought, my gosh, how in the heck do they get these so clear?!? I did a bit of research and the only way that was proven to make clear ice at home was to freeze a tray of ice and then use a hot blade to cut off the edges and reveal the clear center (I like ice, but not that much).Along comes a day of searching Amazon for random stuff instead of doing what I should be, when I stumble on this. I debate it for a week or so [could this really work? no way, the research says it shouldn't. Maybe if I use boiled filtered condensate? no, thats too much work]. Finally I buy the thing.IT WORKS!Clear ice every time. I can't be more thrilled. You put in the freezer and it takes 24 hours before you can remove the cubes, but when they come out they are actually clear cubes!The only downside is that the contraption takes up a good amount of space in the freezer and you only get two cubes out of it, but that being said, I am now making two at a time and storing them in my ice tray. Thinking I may need to invest in the ball mold as well (let the internal debate restart)!

I have an ice cube maker that comes in 3 parts - the molds, the container, and the outside styrofoam. Having the container removable from the styrofoam makes it easier to get the big ice block at the bottom out. Just remove the molds, pop out the ice cubes, take the container out of the styrofoam, and then turn it upside down in a big bowl... 10 minutes later the ice will melt enough to slide out and you get a nice huge ice block. My kid likes to use it in his gallon-sized insulated water flask.The cubes it makes are great. The key to crystal clear ice is to boil filtered water (you can let it cool a bit, but it has gotta be hot still ) and use that in the mold. Clear ice every time. If you want just the cubes, freezing for a day and a half works. You can let the block ice melt & reuse the water. If you want the whole thing frozen, give it 48 hours. I need a block a day, so I rotate making cubes & spheres with another container.

I tried making clear ice several times using the directional cooling technique and failed each time. It took two tries with this unit b4 I got it right and it works!!! As another reviewer mentioned, you may need to tweak your freezer temperature and keep track of time. The first set I did had air in the silicone cubes even though I filled it to the fill line. At 2 degrees and 24 hours it wasn't solid. After reading another post I raised the temp to 7 degrees, overfilled the tank so that when inserting the molds the excess water spilled out, waited 30 hours and they were perfect. BTW...I used warm, not hot tap water. No need to boil or buy expensive water, at least not where I live. We have GR8 water in our community. I will buy another one when they become available. Can't wait to use it when my ice stamp comes in that I ordered off Etsy.

I make clear ice by the bulk and wanted a mold that can pop out cubes for instant use, instead of having to cut up my large blocks. Ive never been able to freeze a thoroughly clear set using this cube maker yet. I always use purified water and have attempted altering the freezer temps, it just doesn't happen. Also, the blocks have a radius on all edges and corners (approx 1/8" to 3/16") which kills the 'cube form' quickly in the glass. I like my cubes to sustain a sharp edge for some time while in an old fashion/rocks/tumbler. its now sitting in my freezer with ice in it just taking up space.

After going through different molds, boiling water, distilled water, letting water sit, buying a small cooler to try DIY directional freezing I had all but abandoned the possibility of truly clear ice. I wasn't willing to pay the $100 + that wintersmiths wanted for a clear ice maker, and the other alternatives didn't actually make clear ice. This Alchemy maker works (you may have to adjust your freezer temperature to something between 5-15 F and wait for 30 hours to get it crystal clear, but it will get there). The cooler is pretty cheap styrofoam and the mold is just silicone so it isn't the most durable product, but it should hold together if used gently.

I must admit I was very skeptical about the ice cubes truly being clear. I have used silicone molds before for large squares including filling with hot water to make what I hoped would be clear cubes. They didn't work. So after reading the review for this device, I decided I had to try it. It takes a bit of steps to get the tub set up and the mold lowered, but not really difficult. And the result was a beautiful large clear square cube. Yay! I am totally impressed :)

So far this is the best choice for clear ice cubes that I have found on the market. It is easy to fill and easy to extriacte the frozen cubes, which are beautifully clear (be sure to use warm or hot water to fill the unit). The problem for me was that the cubes were not 2.5" as shown in one of the accompanying photos, but rather only 2". If that size works for your purpose, then I highly recommend this product. I needed larger cubes to use in an alummium ice press.

To me a rating of 4 means: If I could go back in time and decide whether or not to order this item, I would do it again! That said, it is not perfect (but pretty darn good!).Pros:1) The cubes come out super clear! Like...really, really clear!2) The insulation, plastic bucket, and silicon molds seem pretty sturdy3) Easy to useCons:1) I have made two different batches of these, and each time one (of the two) cube has a jagged edge, where it didn't quite freeze perfect. In other words, both times one of the cubes didn't come out perfectly as a cube. That said, it's really not a big deal, and I'd be happy to make cocktails with this ice!