Clear ice is not a special kind of water or a restaurant trick. It comes from one change to how the water freezes: from the top down, instead of from every side at once. Here is why normal ice goes cloudy, the two ways to make clear ice at home, and how to cut and store it.
The short answer
Freeze the water from the top down only. Insulate the sides and bottom, with a small cooler with the lid off or a clear ice mold, so the top freezes first and the ice grows downward. The air and minerals that make ice cloudy get pushed down ahead of the ice, so the top stays clear and the cloudy part ends up at the bottom, where you cut it off or never freeze it at all.
Why normal ice is cloudy
An ice cube tray freezes from every side at the same time. As water turns to ice, it pushes dissolved air and minerals into the part that is still liquid. In a tray, the last part to freeze is the middle, so everything gets trapped there. That is the white, cloudy core you see in a normal cube.
That is also why the usual tips do not work on their own. Boiling the water, using distilled water or starting with hot water can help a little, but none of them fixes the real cause. If the water still freezes from all sides, whatever is left still gets trapped in the middle.
Method 1: The cooler method
This is the cheapest way, and it is how a lot of bartenders started. You make one clear block and cut it into cubes.
- Find a small hard-sided cooler that fits in your freezer with the lid off. Smaller coolers are easier to handle and freeze faster.
- Fill it with tap water and leave space at the top, because water expands as it freezes.
- Put it in the freezer with the lid off. The cooler walls slow down freezing from the sides and bottom, so the top freezes first and the ice grows down.
- Check it after about 18 hours. You want a clear slab on top with some liquid water still underneath. The timing depends on your freezer and the size of the cooler, so treat the first batch as a test run.
- Take the block out. Turn the cooler over in the sink and let the block slide out, then pour away the water that has not frozen. If it froze all the way through, the bottom will be cloudy. Cut that part off.
Method 2: A clear ice mold
A clear ice mold does the same thing in a box made for your kitchen. It has an insulated outer case with a tray on top, so the water in the tray freezes from the top down while the cloudy water collects underneath.
You fill it to the line, freeze it, then lift out the tray. The cubes or spheres come out clear and already shaped, so there is no block to cut. Freezing usually takes around a day, so check the instructions that come with yours. On Amazon US, most clear ice molds cost about $20 to $42 (October 2026).
The trade-off is quantity. A mold makes a handful of cubes per batch, while a cooler makes one big block you can cut into many.
How to cut a clear ice block
- Let it temper first. Leave the block at room temperature for a few minutes until it turns from frosty white to glassy. Ice straight from the freezer is brittle and more likely to shatter.
- Score a line a few millimeters deep with a serrated bread knife.
- Split it. Set the knife in the groove and tap the back of the blade with a mallet or a rolling pin. The block should crack cleanly along the line.
- Cut slabs, then cubes, and trim off any cloudy edges.
Work on a towel or a cutting board so the block cannot slide, and keep your fingers well away from the line you are splitting.
How to store clear ice
Put the cut cubes back in the freezer on a tray until they are hard again, then move them into a freezer bag or a lidded container. Covered ice does not stick together or pick up freezer smells. A lidded bucket such as our Ice Cube Maker Bucket works for this too.
How to use it
Clear cubes and spheres are made for drinks served over one big piece of ice: whiskey, an Old Fashioned, a Negroni. A big cube melts more slowly than a handful of small ones because less of its surface touches the drink, so the drink waters down more slowly.
Let the cube sit out for a minute before you pour over it. Very cold ice can crack when a room temperature drink hits it.
If it goes wrong
- A cloudy layer at the bottom. That is normal. It is where the air and minerals ended up. Take the ice out earlier next time, or cut that layer off.
- Cracks or white lines inside. Usually the ice was cut or used straight from the freezer. Temper it first.
- It tastes of the freezer. Store it covered, away from open food.
Common questions
How long does clear ice take?
Usually around a day, but it depends on your freezer and the container. Check the first batch early so you learn your timing.
Can I use tap water?
Yes. The freezing method is what makes ice clear, not the water. Filtered water can help with taste if your tap water tastes strongly of chlorine.
Does clear ice melt more slowly?
The size of the ice matters more than how clear it is. A large cube or sphere melts more slowly than small ice because it has less surface per amount of ice.
Is clear ice worth it?
For drinks where the ice is part of the look, yes. For a glass of soda, normal ice is fine.
