If your local watering hole slings cocktails with cloudy crushed ice, it's time for an upgrade.
Entrepreneurial bartenders-turned-ice-makers are crafting crystal clear cubes for cocktail bars, and business is booming.
One former bartender, Richard Boccato, solidified his obsession with pristine cocktail ice into a multimillion-dollar business, per Business Insider.
The iceman carveth
Bartending at New York's best bars and co-opening his own in 2009, Boccato realized one key ingredient missing from the cocktail revival: high-quality ice.
Like a diamond, the cut, clarity, and density are critical characteristics of cocktail ice, affecting drink dilution, temperature, taste, and appearance.
Boccato purchased clear blocks from an ice sculptor, but later invested in a Clinebell, the Cadillac of ice makers, and shaped cubes with chainsaws and irons.
Word spread of the first bar with an in-house ice program and Boccato co-launched Hundredweight Ice, eventually leaving behind bartending to become a full-time ice man.
With zero advertising, Hundredweight's revenue grew around 37% yearly. But not without investment:
- Ice-making machines: $5k-$7k
- Bandsaws: $5k-$20k
- Router for etching: $50k-$75k
- Transport vans: $80k-$90k
Hundredweight now delivers to Michelin-starred restaurants and hundreds of clients, but hasn't raised prices since 2017.
- 50-pack of 2-inch cubes: $30
- Etched cubes: ~$100 per pack
- 15k 2-inch cubes cut each day
- Over 3m pounds of ice made each year
The company's projected revenue for 2026 is $3.5m. Meanwhile, the global ice market is worth ~$5B and is expected to grow to $8.9B by 2034.
Not bad for frozen water.
Gleaming the cube
Other libationists have since stepped out from behind the bar:
- Javier Roberto Flores carved out a name with Austin's Fat Ice.
- Caitlin Pierce, founder of Lady Chiller, is Richmond, Virginia’s only craft icemaker.
- West Coast Ice Pro and Disco Cubes raised the bar in LA.
- Good Ice delivers to over 30 restaurants in St. Louis.
- Jeff Banks of King Cube is Atlanta’s iceman.
- And Block Ice brings the chill to Sacramento.
Not fancy enough? Some US bars import ice from Japan, and one company ships arctic ice from Greenland to Dubai.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?
