At a time when many are stocking their bars with premium spirits to host holiday parties， the one crucial ingredient that often gets overlooked is ice。
每当酒吧向周末派对推荐性价比最佳的酒类时，往往忽视了最基本的东西——冰块。
In almost every cocktail， ice serves to chill and dilute a drink， making it refreshing while calming the burn of the alcohol。
几乎每款鸡尾酒中，冰块会让酒变得口感冰冽，并得到恰当稀释，在平息酒精炽烈的同时，植入清爽的口感。
Proper dilution is important to getting the right balance for every cocktail you’re making， especially for Manhattan or Old Fashioned lovers， says Zak Doy， head bartender at Rush Lane in Toronto。
“品味鸡尾酒时，正确的稀释过程是非常重要的，对于酒的口感平衡而言，尤其是对于诸如曼哈顿酒（Manhattan）和老式情人酒（Old Fashion lovers）至关重要”，多伦多Rush街的调酒师领班Zak Doy这样介绍。
The best cocktails in the world are the ones that have enough ice and water added to them。
“世界上最好的鸡尾酒一定会有适量的冰块和水在其中混合。”
Crushed ice。 Standard cubes。 King cubes。 What’s the difference？
碎冰、标准冰块和特大号冰块，有什么不同呢？
Crushed ice will chill and melt in a cocktail rapidly and is used when more dilution is necessary。
碎冰将会迅速融入酒中，并使得酒变得冰冽，碎冰更多时候是用来稀释酒。
（It’s） used in a lot of more flavourful and boozy drinks， designed for cocktails that can be consumed at a faster pace， says Doy。
“碎冰通常用在味道浓烈的饮料里，它是为那些可以以更快的速度饮用的鸡尾酒设计的。
Over at The Carbon Bar， bartender Leah Young uses crushed ice to make cocktails like mojitos， mules or rum swizzles。
在“碳”酒吧，酒吧调酒师Leah Young使用碎冰调制莫西托（mojito），骡子酒（mules）和屈苏酒（swizzles）
She calls standard one-inch cubes “utility ice” because they can be used in shaken or stirred drinks and for chilling cocktails。
她称标准一英寸冰块为“实用冰块”，因为这些冰块可以用在摇动或搅拌而成的饮品以及那些口感冰冽的鸡尾酒中。
Two-inch king cubes are used in very spirit-forward or spirit-driven cocktails – like Manhattans -- or for sipping really fine bourbon or scotch， says Young。
两英寸特大冰块常被使用在烈性鸡尾酒或者多酒精鸡尾酒中，例如曼哈顿（Manhattan）或者为啜饮纯的波本威士忌或苏格兰威士忌，Young介绍道。
It has a much smaller surface area， so it melts at a much slower rate， ensuring the cocktail you’re enjoying or the fine bourbon 。。。 doesn’t become very expensive bourbon-flavoured water too quickly。
“酒的表面被冰覆盖，所以冰块溶解的非常慢，确保你的口感体验，或者避免使纯度波本威士忌变成遇水即逝的奢华波本威士忌。”
DON’T BE STINGY
不要太小气
One of the biggest mistakes we make is not using enough ice。
调制鸡尾酒其中最大的错误莫过于没有使用足够的冰块。
As a bartender a lot of my guests ask for only a little bit of ice in their drink。 What they really want is more of the drink itself， says Young。 “But what they don’t realize is that when you have less ice， it melts much faster and dilutes your cocktail much faster。”
“作为调酒师，我的许多客人在他们饮酒时只需要很少量冰块。他们真正需要的冰块量是由鸡尾酒自身决定的，”Young说。“但是客人们不知道，当冰块过少时，它们会溶解的很快，稀释鸡尾酒也很快。”
So if you’re hosting a party， how much ice should you have？
如果你举办一个派对，究竟需要多少冰块呢？
Assume the number of your guests will have at least three drinks each and purchase accordingly， says Doy。 “The worst thing that can happen is a no ice situation。”
“假设你的客人至少会饮用三杯，那么准备与之一致数量的冰块”Doy说，“派对上最尴尬的事情莫过于没有冰块的境地了。”
来源外研社博客，点击阅读原文。
责任编辑：王淳
