How to Smoke Ice Cubes

You can bring new flavour and tang to any drink with the addition of smoked ice cubes. Whole ice cubes are smoked until they melt - the smoke particles adhere to ice better than water alone - then the flavourful liquid is refrozen to create smoky cubes. This Smoked gin and tonic is a good place to start, or try them in a superlative bloody Mary. They add interest to a huge variety of flavours, so feel free to experiment!

You will need:

Cold-smoking device (I used the ProQ Cold Smoke Generator)

Cold-smoking sawdust (I used maple)

Water, as needed

Freeze as much ice as you want to smoke

Set up the cold-smoker. Mine is a small metal unit that you sit on a baking tray and top with a raised cooling rack. You put the items to be smoked on top and place the whole lot inside a container to trap the cool smoke. I have had success with a variety of containers – from a small, lidded barbecue to a plain old cardboard box. I usually use what is to hand and don’t keep anything special for smoking. I tend to smoke things indoors, with the smoker by a window or an open door that leads outside. The smoker doesn’t generate much smoke, as it has to stay cool, but it will make the room smell a little smoky

Arrange the ice you have previously frozen in a low-sided container that is large enough to fit inside your smoking container and hold all the water when the ice melts. A low-sided container is best for allowing the smoke to reach the ice. Smoke the ice until it all melts, about 90 minutes

During smoking, go back and check intermittently to make sure that the smoker is still alight. Dripping moisture has extinguished the dust for me before