爲什麼冰塊對雞尾酒來說很重要?

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.

每當酒吧向週末派對推薦性價比最佳的酒類時，往往忽視了最基本的東西--冰塊。

In almost every cocktail, ice serves to chill and dilute a drink, making it refreshing while calming the burn of the alcohol.

幾乎在每款雞尾酒中，冰塊都會讓酒變得口感冰冽，並得到恰當稀釋，在平息酒精熾烈的同時，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.

“品味雞尾酒時，正確的稀釋過程是非常重要的，對於酒的口感平衡而言，尤其是對於諸如曼哈頓酒和老式情人酒至關重要”，多倫多Rush街的調酒師領班扎克·多伊這樣介紹。

'The best cocktails in the world are the ones that have enough ice and water added to them.'

“世界上最好的雞尾酒一定會有適量的冰塊和水在其中混合。”

Crushed ice. Standard cubes. King cubes. What's the difference?

碎冰、標準冰塊和特大號冰塊，有什麼不同呢？

Crushed ice will chill and melt in a cocktail rapidly and is used when more dilution is necessary.

碎冰將會迅速融入酒中，並使得酒變得冰冽，碎冰更多時候是用來稀釋酒。

'(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.

多伊說：“碎冰通常用在味道濃烈的飲料裏，它是爲那些可以以更快的速度飲用的雞尾酒設計的。”

Two-inch king cubes are used in very spirit-forward or spirit-driven cocktails – like Manhattans -- or for sipping really fine bourbon or scotch.

兩英寸特大冰塊常被使用在烈性雞尾酒或者多酒精雞尾酒中，例如曼哈頓或者爲啜飲純的波本威士忌或蘇格蘭威士忌。

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.

酒的表面被冰覆蓋，所以冰塊溶解的非常慢，確保你的口感體驗，或者避免使純度波本威士忌變成遇水即逝的奢華波本威士忌。