Baby, it's hot outside and only an ice-cold drink will do. Make sure it's not watered down with these 7 easy ways to keep drinks cold without ice.
Here in the south, it gets hot and feels even hotter because of the humidity. If you spend any time outside you'll want an ice-cold drink to cool down with.
However, because it is so hot, ice melts fast and no one wants to drink tea or soda that has lost all its flavor and you might want something other than cold water.
Check out our tips for ways to keep drinks cold without ice watering them down so you can stay cool with your favorite refreshing beverage.
Safety Note: Keep in mind perishable things like dairy and juices should not be left out for more than 2 hours (1 hour if 90°F+) if not chilled below 40°F.
Make sure you have access to things like coolers or gel packs or ice packs for items like this.
1. Pre-chill your drinks. One of the best ways to keep your drinks cold without watering them down is to obviously have them as cold as possible to begin with.
We cook a lot so I totally get that you might not have a lot of room in your main refrigerator to store drinks.
That's why we got a smaller refrigerator with freezer mainly just for drinks and ice.
It's convenient for us and is also nice to be able to store a variety of drinks for guests or to offer for maintenance workers or delivery drivers, etc.
If applicable, you can also chill your glasses before filling them.
Simple trick: If you need to chill a bottled or canned drink quickly that's at room temperature: dampen a paper towel (or 2 according to how large the bottle is) and wrap the wet paper towel around as much of the bottle as possible.
Place in the freezer for 15 - 20 minutes and it should be well-chilled. Just make sure you don't forget about it because it can freeze and potentially explode!
2. Make ice cubes out of whatever you're drinking. Okay, so this is technically ice but using ice made out of whatever you're drinking makes all the difference.
I love having ice-cold tea and coffee during the summer. But, it's so disappointing when you go to take a sip and it's super watered down from all the ice.
One way to prevent that from happening is to use ice cubes that are actually made from whatever you're drinking.
Some beverages that work well as ice include coffee, tea, fruit juices (or even pureed fresh fruit), and prepared powder mixes like Kool-Aid.
This is also a great way to impart extra flavor, like using frozen peach cubes in black tea.
You can even make your ice cubes look extra fun for parties or just because by using unique molds such as sports ball ice molds, letter ice molds, or Star Wars Death Star molds.
3. Use frozen fruit as ice cubes. This is one of my favorite ways to keep plain water and drinks like cocktails and spritzers cold.
Pick a complementary fruit to your drink, freeze it, and then use it in your drinks as needed.
It does tend to work best if you put the fruit in a single layer on a baking sheet and then freeze because otherwise the pieces/berries might stick together.
After they are frozen you can then stick them in a bag and they shouldn't stick together unless they thaw and then get refrozen.
I love that it adds flavor to my water and guests are always impressed to see them in drinks.
For example, I freeze pomegranate seeds for my berry pomegranate spritzer and blueberries for my mixed berry vodka spritzer.
4. Try reusable ice cubes. Reusable ice cubes are a relatively new concept for me and I think they're pretty cool.
I first saw them as whiskey stones intended to keep your alcohol cold.
But, now you can also find them in plastic (caution that some reviews state they make drinks taste like plastic) and stainless steel. You can use them in whatever beverage you want.
They work by sticking them in the freezer for several hours and then you place them in your cup and pour your beverage (preferably already cold itself) over the reusable cubes.
After you're done, wash them well, dry, and stick them back in the freezer. Usually, they are filled with water or made of a material that naturally holds the temperature well.
5. Use cups designed to keep drinks cold for a long time.
Use cups or tumblers that are designed to keep drinks cold for extended periods of time, like 10 - 24 hours.
These cups will even keep drinks without ice cold for several hours whether you are indoors or outside and they don't sweat.
They work even better if you do add ice, and you're likely to finish your drink before the ice gets all melty and dilutes your beverage.
We've used several different brands including Yeti, RTIC, Ozark from Walmart, and Reduce. They honestly all work very well and are comparable though they vary in price.
I do prefer the Reduce, though, because you can completely close the lid, though it has openings to sip/pour and a sealable hole for the straws.
I love that they also make a stainless steel lid now that keeps drinks colder longer if you're using a straw.
Stanley cups are also quite popular at the moment but I've yet to jump on that bandwagon to give an opinion on how they compare.
6. If outside, try to keep your drinks in the shade. Okay, this may be a bit of a no-brainer but it's easy to forget when you're outside and having fun in the summer.
Simply keep your drinks in the shade and not direct sunlight, even if you have to put up a shade umbrella to provide some shade or take a short walk to get to your drink.
Without all the extra heat your drink will stay colder longer and if you do use ice it won't melt as fast.
7. Wondering how to keep a pitcher cold? Here are a few ideas.
Chill the beverage in the pitcher (covered) for at least a few hours before serving.
If it's a mixed sparking drink you can keep the separate ingredients chilled instead of risking it going flat.
You can also put the empty pitcher in the refrigerator to chill, like you would a bowl before making homemade whipped cream.
There are also pitchers like this which have an ice chamber to keep your beverage cold without watering it down.
While not the prettiest, there are also insulated gallon jugs.
As an alternative, fill a clean plastic cup about halfway with water that will fit inside your pitcher and freeze until solid.
Once a couple of servings of your beverage have been served so that the cup will fit without your beverage flowing over, carefully add the cup to the pitcher.
It will act as a big ice cube and melt right into the cup without watering your beverage down.
You can also cover the cup with press and seal wrap to be extra safe.
Hopefully these ways to keep drinks cold without watering them down help to keep you cool this summer!
January
Monday 29th of April 2019
Hi, My son and daughter have are participating in Lemonade Day. We are trying to sell at least 300-600 cups of lemonade. What is the best way to store this? I saw your last post about a plastic/ reuasable cup filled 1/2 way. Could you please explain this a little more? Thank you so much!
Smart Savvy Living
Tuesday 30th of April 2019
Hi January, thanks for stopping by. That's a lot of lemonade! I've never had to keep quite that many drinks cold. My last tip was if you were using a pitcher, such as a regular-sized pitcher of tea or lemonade. You'd fill a cup halfway with water and freeze prior to needing to cool down the beverage. Then when you need to keep the beverage cold, pop the cup into the pitcher to help things stay cold without watering anything down. In your case, I think I'd consider making ice cubes out of some of the lemonade and using those as ice. You could also look into a large insulated beverage dispenser like this: https://amzn.to/2Lc6kp3. Best of luck!