Berlinzo Premium Clear Ice Ball Maker Mold - 8 Large 2.4" Crystal Clear Ice Balls for Whiskey, Cocktails & Bourbon - Easy-to-Remove Mold for Ice Spheres - XL Storage Bag Included (Non-Electric)

I was really intrigued by the concept of "clear" ice. I was accustomed to standard ice cube trays - put the water in and tomorrow you've got ice. But the ice was filled at the bottom of the cube with air bubbles, and it melted fast. I started hearing about clear ice makers - no air bubbles at all, and the ice lasted much longer. I was curious if that claim was really true, and if so, how do they work? So I did some research and learned of the basic principles. Large bodies of fresh water like lakes and slower moving river in northern regions will freeze over each winter. They freeze from the surface downward, and that's the key - water freezing top - down like that forces air and impurities down as it freezes, leaving a layer of clear ice over the unfrozen water below. These home clear ice makers operate on the same principle; water is placed into an insulated container - a cooler, if you will. Silicone molds are inserted at the top of the cooler. These molds have holes placed at the top and bottom to allow for both complete filling and the free movement of water between the tank below and the molds. The molds must also be filled with water to the top. Put the device in your freezer. The freezing process begins at the top of the molds and moves downward, forcing air and impurities through the holes at the bottom into the insulated tank below. Leave the device in your freezer at least 24 hours (my 5 cubic foot freezer operates at -3° F, and it takes 28 hours for this device to freeze thoroughly). Taking the ice out of the molds reveals crystal clear ice spheres, exactly as promised. Removing the molds is a bit of a chore, but the design of this device - thick, strong handles at each end of the individual molds makes removal surprisingly easy, as long as you're patient and don't try to use too much force. The included storage bag easily holds about a dozen spheres, but with careful packing I've gotten 16 spheres in there. Some notes on what else I learned during my research: - The embedded air bubbles are the chief reason ice sitting in a liquid melt down so quickly - as the outer layer melts the warmer liquid will infiltrate into those bubbles, hastening the process. Clear ice has no embedded air, so the warmer liquid can't get to the interior sections. - It's the surface area of ice that melts. Square cubes have more surface area than spheres, so spheres will melt more slowly than square cubes. - Harvested spheres (or cubes) will crack if you take them directly from the freezer and immerse them in liquid. The ice should be 'tempered' (left to sit at room temperature) for 10 to 15 minutes before immersion. - Water quality makes a difference, particularly in the tank below the molds. Dispersed minerals and other impurities will wind up at the bottom of this ice, possibly giving it an unpleasant taste or smell. Not an issue if you plan to use this ice for chilling bottles or cans, but it could give unpleasant results if used in consumables. Water from reverse osmosis filtration or distilled water would work fine if you want to use the tank ice in consumables, as well as making for excellent molded clear ice. Of course you can simply discard the tank water, or use it (after it warms to room temperature) to water plants. I try not to waste the tank water, and my plants appreciate it. - This device produces 2.5-inch spheres; ensure your glasses will accommodate spheres this large. - The 8-sphere device is large and will take up significant space in a refrigerator freezer. The smaller units for 2 or four spheres/cubes would work better there.

Fantastic design! Works great! Love the clear round balls of ice! Perfect for drinks.

I've been wanting to buy one of these for a while, but I'm thinking I should have started out with a 2 or 4 ball unit. The 8 ball unit is huge and will take up a lot of space in your freezer. The main issue so far has been the instructions, and two in particular. One is it says to fill each chamber to the top, which just causes a mess when you're inserting the sleeves. Better to fill to about an half an inch to an inch from the top, insert the sleeves, then slowly top up through the holes in each sleeve. The second issue is that is says that it takes 24 hours, which this unit does not. I use a chest freezer that doesn't currently have much in it and freezes well. After 24 hrs, I took out the first sleeve and only the top was just starting to freeze. After anothe 4 hours, another sleeve, and about half the ball was froze, and after another 4hrs, about 3 quarters. At 36 hours, they were what I considered acceptable, but was not perfectly spherical at the bottom, so you're looking at 36 hours minimum, 48 hours ideal, which may also completely freeze the water in the resevoir giving some imperfect, but large cubish ice cubes. Overall, happy with the product and it does produce very clear ice, even with just regular tap water.

I was impressed. It does make clear ice balls easily. I booked the water as recommended and made sure it was cooled to 100 degrees then froze it. Makes 8 ice balls at a time and comes with a freezer bag. Easy to remove after letting sit at room temperature for a bit. Highly recommend.

I wanted to love this ice ball maker. The clear ice balls look fantastic when it works, and I was fully prepared to overlook a few quirks. Unfortunately, after purchasing three of these units, all three developed the exact same problem. The black inner liner that holds the water cracked on every unit during the second use. Once it cracks, water leaks into the Styrofoam insulation, which means there isn't enough water left to properly fill all 8 molds. My first batch would come out great, but after the cracks developed, I would end up with incomplete or misshapen ice balls. I returned the first one, thinking it was a fluke. The second did the same thing. I really hoped the third would be the charm, but it failed exactly the same way. There are a couple of other minor inconveniences. There is no fill line, so you're guessing how much water to add. When you insert the mold, water tends to spill over the edges, creating a mess. If you underfill it, the ice balls aren't perfectly round. The same thing happens when water leaks from the cracked liner. Freezing also took about 36–48 hours in our freezer. That's not necessarily a dealbreaker, and the ice ball molds can be removed once frozen with a little effort. The other issue is that the liner still contains a large block of ice that has to melt before you can refill it and start another batch. Honestly, I could have lived with every one of those inconveniences if the product had been durable. The clear ice balls are impressive when everything works. But for a product in this price range, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect it to last longer than two uses. I'm genuinely disappointed because I wanted this to be a five-star review.