Post #748101 by swizzle on Tue, Jul 28, 2015 11:00 PM

Ace, don't worry, i know you weren't poking at me and you are correct, the written word is sometimes awkward as people interpret what they read in their own way.

And luna, i do agree that ice can be porous, even though i said otherwise. What i was thinking and how i said it didn't come out right. I was thinking of a solid ice cube and that WATER is not porous. As i said earlier:

"I have no doubt, and agree, that the ice can be made to be porous and by that very nature it is 'retaining' the drink as you put it, but TO ME, retaining the drink in the ice, whilst it is a form of absorbtion, is NOT the same as the ice itself absorbing the flavours of the drink, which is what the marketing term is saying".

I stand by my comment above. The drink is entering the 'pores' of the ice but then pretty much being released again straight away as the ice has so much surface area, the liquid is going to make it melt faster. I'm comparing an ice cube to activated carbon used for filtering water (from my days in the aquarium industry) where the carbon does both. It 'absorbs' and 'retains' until it cannot absorb any more and then starts releasing everything it HAD absorbed. Ice cannot absorb anymore than the pores allow and then it just starts melting and releasing it. I personally think that 'retaining' and 'absorbing' are quite different when it comes to talking about ice cubes, where as others may see it as splitting hairs.

And i DO agree that different (shaped) ice plays a different role in the type of drink. I just feel that people are far too anal about it. I'm here for a good time, not a long time. I'm not going to lose sleep over someone using the 'incorrect' type of ice in my drink. Having said that, i trust that the person making my drink knows how to make one properly to start with and uses the ice that is best suited to that style of drink.