Red Cup Shot Glasses

You know those big red plastic cups that tend to show up at casual barbecues and parties? Well, apparently they're not just inexpensive drinkware, but they've become a "thing." There are a whole bunch of other products dedicated to the look of that classic red cup.

One item that I thought would make a useful gift rather than just a haha-funny grab bag gift was the Red Cup Shot Glasses.

Of course you can use them as shot glasses, but if you don't often serve shots, then they'd be great for individual condiments, flavored butters, sauces, soup shooters, tasters, mise en place, tiny desserts, or for when you want to give your guests some extra stuff that they can add to their own plate.

For being a fun item, these are solid, dishwasher safe, and they stack fairly well for storage. They actually look higher-end than the cups they represent. And let's face it, they look cute.

I doubt I'll ever use mine for shots, but I'll definitely be using them.

Who's it for: People with a sense of humor who like fun and casual serving pieces. These won't match with that heirloom crystal all that well.

Pros: Fun gift item that's actually useful. Comes in a decent box for easy wrapping.

Cons: Possibly too simple as a stand-alone gift.

Wishes: While the red cup is a thing, they'd be fun in a multi-color set.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Vinturi Spirit

You might have heard of the Vinturi that's used to aerate wines by the glass so you don't have to wait for you wine to "breathe" before drinking.

You might have heard of that, but did you know that there's a similar product for spirits as well? It's called Vinturi Spirit.

While people don't generally let their brandy or rum breathe, aerating it does change the flavor. I tried it. I like it.

The Vinturi for spirits has measurement markings for 1, 1 1/2, and 2 ounces, so you can use it to measure as well as aerate. You fill it to the line, then press the button and release the liquid into your glass.

The flavor of the liquor changes. For sure. The sharp edges disappear and the flavors are rounder and mellower and more pleasantly drinkable, but at the same time you can pick out the nuances. I particularly liked the transformation of Bracamenta, but it was also fun to test it with other spirits.

While it makes good quality liquors better, it makes less-expensive liquors good. It's nice for making your evening nip a little nicer, but it would also be a whole lot of fun for tastings at parties. Try a sip as-is and try a sip after aerating and see what your friends think.

This works best when you like your drinks neat, but you can pour it over ice, as well. But as the ice melts, the effect  of the aeration wears off.

If you pour water into the drink, you lose the effect immediately, so forget about that drink with a splash. Or maybe not. After doing some sampling, I thought, hey, liquor has water in it, so maybe adding a splash of water to the liquor before aerating would work. And, surprise, it did.

There's probably an upper limit to how much water you can add before the effect disappears, but if you're adding that much water to your drink, you probably aren't looking for subtleties in the liquor.

Who's it for: Folks who like spirits and drink them neat, on the rocks, or with a small splash of water. Also fun for tasting parties.

Pros: It really does what it says. Attractive.

Cons: Not going to help that cheap tequila in a margarita.

Wishes: Can't think of any.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Polar Ice - for totally clear cocktail ice

A few years ago, when I posted a cocktail recipe, I got a lot of comments about the ice. How did I get it so clear?

I had to confess that it I used plastic ice. It looked good and it didn't melt, which meant I had more time to take photos. But ... busted. I don't usually use fake stuff in food photos.

Not even garnishes.

Clear ice is apparently the holy grail for home cocktail makers. I read instructions that suggested using recently-boiled water, hot water, or distilled water. Other people said that none of those worked 100 percent of the time.

I tried a few different methods to get clear ice, but no matter what, I always got whitish ice cubes. Always.

So when the folks at Polar Ice Tray sent me a contraption for making clear ice - and not just clear ice, but large clear ice BALLS, I was all over it.

Could this be the gadget that works?

There are several parts to the ice molds - an insulated bottom piece (the blue thing on the bottom), a plastic holder for excess ice, and a two-piece silicone mold that makes the actual round balls. The top piece has designs that get embossed into the top of the ice balls - my set had a seal and a penguin. They also sell a set that has a polar bear and a walrus.

Photo courtesy of Polar Ice Tray

It takes quite a while for the ice to freeze, but then you have large ice balls that take a while to melt in your drink. If you want a dozen of them for a party, you might want several molds, or just start early and unmold and store them in the freezer in a plastic bag.

So ... drumroll, please ... they actually made totally clear ice. Not a single bit of white frosty stuff inside the balls. None.

By the way, clear ice was a little bit difficult for me to photograph. Because it's clear. It's nice for photographing drinks, though.

Here, the color of the cocktail reflected in the ice. That ice ball is totally clear, but it's picking up the color of the drink. In drinks that are less opaque, the ice doesn't detract from the clarity the way white ice does.

When the ice first comes out of the mold, you marvel at the clarity, then it gets a tiny white layer of frost. But that disappears as soon as you put the ice in a glass and pour some liquid over it. Or if you just let it sit for a short time so the frost melts.

Another interesting thing about this totally clear ice was that it didn't seem to crack as readily as normal ice cubes. If I poured warm or hot water on it, it sometimes cracked. But beverage temperature or cold liquids didn't seem to crack it. I haven't made millions of ice balls, but I've made quite a few cocktails using this ice - enough to note the lack of cracking.

That lack of cracking is very cool. Broken ice balls would not be cool at all.

For the fun of it, I tried embedding fruit inside the ice to see what that would look like. It was interesting, but not what I hoped for. My fruit - I used raspberries and blueberries - exuded color into the ice. So I ended up with a pink "cloud" surrounded by clear ice.

It still made an interesting presentation in a clear drink, but it wasn't as totally cool as having clear ice with something floating inside.

I think I might get better results by embedding something that isn't so ... wet, so it won't exude color into the freezing water. I'm going to try flowers, sprigs of herbs, mint leaves, or perhaps citrus zest and see what happens. I'm sure you'll see them in cocktails over on Cookistry.

Overall, I'm giddy happy with these. The ice balls are large so they melt really slowly, so a lingering drinker (like me) can enjoy a cocktail for a long time without it getting diluted. And they really truly produce totally clear ice cubes which is going to be great for photos for the blog.

Who's it for: People who covet clear cocktail ice.

Pros: Simple to fill. It's not a fussy thing.

Cons: Takes a while for the ice to freeze, so you do need to plan ahead.

Wishes: Can't think of anything ... they work as-is.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.

Gin and Titonic

I've been making a lot of cocktails lately. They're fun. And tasty.

I don't usually go crazy with garnishes in my drinks. I tend to like more simple things like a tart cherry or a fun straw or a slice of citrus

But I also like whimsical things if they're easy to manage, so I was really excited to try the Gin and Titonic ice molds from Fred and Friends.

One mold makes four ships and four icebergs - perfect for crashing into four cocktails.

I have to say that these are fun, even if you're not making a gin and tonic. Everyone would get the joke about a ship and an iceberg, even if they don't know the pun.

I have to say, though, that they looked a heck of a lot better in person than they did when I tried to photograph them. I needed a fairly clear liquid so you could see the ice - but then the ice sort of disappeared from the photos.

I solved the problem by adding some B'lure bitters to the molds to add some color to the ice, and then I made a drink with a bit of acid, so the liquid would turn pink as the ice melted.

For more about B'lure bitters, see this post.

Coloring the ice made them more visible for my photos, but in person, you could use plain ice cubes. When someone's drinking it, they'll see the shape of the ice, even if the mixer is cloudy or the drink is made with cola or another dark mixer.

And of course (duh) you don't need to freeze plain water or use a coloring - fruit juice like cranberry (or whatever matches your drink) would be very appropriate in a cocktail.

One huge tip for serving the best-looking ships and icebergs is to create the drink with liquid that's as cold as possible to keep the ice from melting. That way, people will see the details.

Obviously, keeping your ingredients refrigerated will help, but there's one more thing you can do to make sure the drink is really cold - put the cocktail ingredients (not including carbonated mixers) in a shaker with ice, then shake and strain the liquid into your serving glass. Then add the fun ice and you'll have a colder beverage to start with.

As far as those carbonated mixers, just make sure they're well-refrigerated before you add them to your cocktail.

I have to say that there are definitely fun for cocktails, and maybe best for a gin and tonic, but they'd also be fun for kids - use a bunch of different fruit juices to make different-colored ships to make it really fun.

While I haven't tried it, it might be possible to make those super-dense Jello treats in these, too. I'm not sure how easy they'd be to unmold, but it would be worth trying if you already had this for drinks and you have kids.

Who's it for: People who like fun ice cubes.

Pros: They're just plain fun. Not something you absolutely need, but very fun floating in a glass.

Cons: Maybe sure you've got a a flat place for the ice tray in your freezer so you don't end up with lopsided ships.

Then again, they're capsizing anyway, so it might not matter all that much.

Wishes: I think I'd like more icebergs per drink.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.