Forget what kind of alcohol is in your cocktail, a new bar in Austin, Texas, wants you to care about your ice.
Half Step, which just opened in Austin, specializes in artisanal ice making. They cut each cube by hand in a specially outfitted shed where humongous blocks of ice are stored.
If you're rolling your eyes, just remember, the monocle is making its comeback, so it's a great time to romanticize the ridiculous, like one-eyed glasses and frozen water.
In a video produced by Zagat, Half Step's Chris Bostick demonstrates how these perfect ice cubes are created.
Ice is first created in huge blocks. Bostick boasts that the water in Austin is "not hard water like other cities."
Then the ice has to be cut.
There are two kinds of shapes the ice is cut into.
There are "Collins Spears."
They fit into a glass perfectly.
Then there are cubes. Bostick points out that in the Texas summer heat, ice can be very "refreshing and rewarding."
Here are the cubes:
And remember, every single piece of ice is cut by hand.
This is called "hand-cracking."
Then it's time to drink.
Bostick says the right kind of ice is what makes a 3-ingredient cocktail memorable.
You can learn more about Half Step and their artisanal ice making process here.