Imagine this: you are sitting on the porch during the summer enjoying a popsicle or iced cap – only that treat has a little extra fun in it. Many people have dreamed of making their frozen cocktails, well, completely frozen. The only problem is that the law of physics negates the dream from being realized – or does it? You can thank fearless scientists for one more addition to the marvels of modern science. Frozen alcoholic treats are no longer a dream, but a reality.
Most people keep their hard liquor in the freezer for mixed drinks because it is incapable of freezing, but there is a way to make completely frozen drink concoctions if you use the right freezing methods. Up until now, frozen drink lovers have experimented with various ways to fully freeze their frozen drinks, to no avail. People have attempted to mix in water or even to freeze alcohol past the range of the average freezer, down to twenty degrees Fahrenheit.
The good news is that one company was persistent enough to make the truly “frozen” drink a reality. They have patented a new method that makes edible alcohol products frozen. They found a way to make alcohol the consistency of products like ice cream and sorbet, while only being frozen to 24-28 degrees. The best part is that the freezing process doesn’t change the consistency, alcohol content or taste of the frozen concoctions. It is now possible for every household to have the ability to create a vodka cranberry sorbet if they so choose.
Some of the other attempts at freezing edible foods with high alcohol contents have turned the products to rubber while others have given them a “gummy” feel. The best part about the new product is that you can freeze, thaw, and freeze your drink again, and you won’t compromise anything about it. That means that when used in commercial products, they can be distributed without freezing required and still taste the same when you refreeze them in your home. Products made with the new method also have a shelf life of nearly 18 months without added preservatives and without losing quality.
The only thing that might affect how long the products last or how fresh they stay is whether they have other food additives or preservatives in them before the freezing process. The final product, when used, always retains the same taste, consistency, and quality of the original alcoholic drink you started with. The reason is that once it’s back to its melting temperature, the alcohol reverts to its original form without compromise.
The best part is that the technology allows a person to monitor and control the amount of alcohol they want to add to the finished product. There are no guidelines about how high a concentration of alcohol you can have for a mixed drink, so drink away. The new product will likely be springing up everywhere to make everything from gummy bear drinks to icee pops filled with your favorite spirit. You can even produce ice cubes to concentrate the taste of your mixed drink further, instead of watering it down with regular ice.
How it works
The new technology involves the theory of “molecular order.” This is a process in which the freezing point of ethanol, or grain alcohol, has a different chemical reaction when frozen. A chemical reaction causes the drink solution to freeze at higher temperatures than the freezing process without them. The process works by lowering the movement of the free ethanol molecules in any solution, which makes it much easier to freeze at lower temperatures. In essence, it lowers the entropy, or degree of disorder in the freezing process, and increases random molecules to bind together.
Too complex?
The best news is that you don’t have to worry about how or why it happens. All you have to know is that the next time you want to enjoy a frozen margarita sorbet that has the same alcohol content as one on the rocks, you can. Thanks to the innovation of science, another problem plaguing mankind has been solved. Look for the new line of products to be released by your favorite alcohol producers sometime soon.