Take Your Tropical Drinks To New Heights With This Ice Cube Trick

Nothing is better than a super fruity, tropical drink on a hot summer's day. At the same time, there's nothing worse than having all those sweet, tart, zesty flavors vanish with each sip as the ice begins to melt. If you try to savor your drink, by the time you're halfway through it the flavors will be diluted. You can't change the fact that ice is going to melt. But what if you could make sure that when it did, it didn't mellow out your drink. What if the flavor became brighter and bolder instead?

The trick is using juice instead of water for your ice. This way, when the cubes begin to melt, they'll be releasing more fruity notes into your beverage, not just plain water. The concept is similar to using frozen fruit to keep drinks cold and flavorful, or infusing ice cubes for cocktails with ingredients like mint. You're just keeping that drink nice and chilled, but with a serious flavor upgrade. 

Mix water with store-bought powders or concentrates or use fresh juice. Pour the liquid into an ice tray — or try fun ice molds to give your drinks a visual boost — and pop it into the freezer. The result is cooling, flavor-bursting cubes to keep those dilution blues at bay.

Considering the range of juices you can freeze and the number of drinks you can add those cubes to, the possibilities are endless even if you're craving a tropical twist. You can match flavors or bring in something new. For example, lock in the flavor of pineapple juice by using it to make ice cubes, or create a fresh contrast by sweetening the acidity with mango cubes. It works for sparkling water, too: Think of all the varieties of Waterloo. You could temper the tang of pineapple bubbly H2O with banana juice cubes, or highlight notes from Waterloo's Tropical Fruit with ice made from papaya or grapefruit juice. 

For tropical cocktails, try some of the most essential tiki drinks, and further improve them with juice cubes. The Bahama Mama has orange, pineapple, and coconut elements, which would work beautifully with frozen pineapple or passion fruit juice. The Singapore Sling features cherry and orange; either juice would be great as ice, or you could try adding lime cubes. 

Beyond tiki drinks, there are tropical cocktails from all over the world that can easily be modified with non-alcoholic substitutes. Add both brightness and sweetness to the rum runner's banana, blackberry, lime, and pineapple blend with guava juice ice cubes. You can also craft combos directly in the ice tray: Blend pineapple and coconut juice for piña colada cubes to add to water. Once you start experimenting with these lasting flavors, you won't want to stop.