Ice Maker Guide: Choosing the Best Ice for Every Drink

For years, the appliance question was simple: Do you want an ice maker?

Today, I think we’re asking the wrong question.

The better question is:

What kind of ice do you want—and what are you putting it in?

I recently started learning more about the different types of ice being produced by today’s ice makers and refrigerators, and I was amazed by how much ice can change a drink. Clear ice. Nugget ice. Large craft cubes. Spheres. Traditional cubes. Even hollow and semi-solid ice.

Ice is no longer just something that makes a drink cold.

Ice has become an ingredient.

And as our kitchens increasingly include dedicated beverage centers, coffee stations and home bars, choosing your ice deserves almost as much thought as choosing what goes into the glass.

Why Ice Matters: It’s All About Dilution

A great drink is a balance of temperature and dilution.

Smaller pieces of ice have more surface area relative to their volume, so they chill a beverage quickly—but generally melt faster. Larger, denser pieces of ice tend to melt more slowly, giving you cooling with less dilution over time.

Neither is necessarily better. It depends on the drink.

A large clear cube or sphere can be wonderful for sipping bourbon, whiskey or a spirit-forward cocktail because you don’t want the drink becoming watery too quickly.

Nugget ice does almost the opposite. Its soft, chewable texture and tremendous surface area give you rapid cooling and lots of interaction with the beverage. Think lemonade, iced tea, soda, tropical drinks and mocktails.

And sometimes traditional cubes are exactly what you need.

Clear Ice vs. Cloudy Ice

Let’s clear up one misconception.

Clear ice and cloudy ice don’t inherently taste different simply because one is clear. Both are frozen water.

Traditional freezer ice often freezes from the outside inward, trapping tiny air bubbles and minerals that give it its cloudy appearance. Clear-ice machines control the freezing process differently, reducing trapped air and creating harder, denser, more transparent ice.

Where taste can change is water quality and the environment in which the ice is stored. Ice sitting next to food in a freezer, for example, can pick up odors.

The real reasons people love clear ice are its density, slower dilution and beautiful presentation.

Put one crystal-clear cube in a beautiful glass and suddenly even a simple sparkling water with citrus feels special.

The New Sub-Zero Ice Maker: Quiet Finally Matters

One of the most interesting new introductions comes from Sub-Zero.

In June 2026, Sub-Zero introduced its new Designer Undercounter 15-inch Ice Maker, and what caught my attention wasn’t simply that it makes crystal-clear ice.

It was noise.

Anyone who has lived with a dedicated ice machine knows they can be noisy. Water runs. Pumps operate. Ice drops into the bin. It’s particularly noticeable in today’s open kitchens and entertaining spaces.

Sub-Zero says its new model was specifically engineered to address this with MaxQuiet™ technology and near-silent operation. It produces a dense 1.25-inch crystal-clear cube and can make up to 65 pounds of ice per day.

Sub-Zero has also tackled another less-glamorous reality of owning an ice machine: cleaning. The new model incorporates guided cleaning and was designed to simplify routine maintenance.

Those may not be the features you show off during a party—but they can be the features you appreciate most after living with the appliance.

One Ice Maker Doesn’t Fit Everyone

This is where shopping gets interesting.

Scotsman has long been associated with dedicated residential ice machines and offers very different ice experiences—from hard, crystal-clear gourmet cubes designed for slower melting to the soft, chewable nugget ice so many people love in sodas, smoothies and casual drinks.

U-Line offers an unusually broad selection, including crescent ice, clear ice, Craft Clear Ice and nugget ice—another great example of why we should be asking which ice you want rather than simply whether you want an ice maker.

Zephyr has taken another interesting approach with its Presrv™ Gourmet Clear Ice Machine. It allows you to choose solid, semi-solid or hollow ice. Solid ice provides longer-lasting cooling; hollow ice can be produced faster and chills beverages rapidly; semi-solid falls somewhere in between.

Then there are refrigerators that turn the refrigerator itself into part of the beverage experience.

Select LG refrigerators produce slow-melting round Craft Ice™ in addition to traditional ice choices, while newer models offer smaller Mini Craft Ice™ dispensed from the door.

At the luxury end, select SKS refrigerators also offer multiple ice options, giving homeowners yet another way to think about ice as part of the overall kitchen and entertaining experience.

Suddenly, the ice a refrigerator makes can actually be part of the decision about which refrigerator you buy.

Don’t Forget the Less Exciting Questions

Before falling in love with beautiful clear cubes, there are several practical things to discuss.

Where will the ice maker go? How much ice do you actually use? Does the installation require a drain? Will you need a drain pump? How frequently does the machine need cleaning? Is it going into a kitchen, home bar, basement entertaining area—or outdoors? How important is noise? And do you entertain enough that production and storage capacity matter?

Dedicated clear-ice machines are also different from the ice maker inside a refrigerator. Many clear-ice machines use an insulated rather than refrigerated storage bin, so some melting is normal and the water drains away as fresh ice continues to be produced.

These details matter.

That’s why choosing an ice maker shouldn’t begin with a model number.

It should begin with how you live.

Make the Drink an Experience

We’re entering one of my favorite entertaining seasons—football games, fall gatherings, Halloween and then the holidays.

And today’s beverage experience doesn’t have to revolve around alcohol.

Think sparkling water over a beautiful clear cube with blood orange and rosemary. A Halloween mocktail packed with nugget ice and fresh berries. Apple cider over craft ice with a cinnamon stick. Fresh lemonade over soft nugget ice. An iced coffee poured over a slow-melting sphere.

We’ve come a long way from the Shirley Temple.

The glass matters. The garnish matters. The ingredients matter.

And now, the ice matters too.

So the next time you’re planning a kitchen, beverage center or home bar, don’t just ask:

“Do I need an ice maker?”

Ask:

“What’s in my glass?”

Because once you answer that question, choosing the right ice becomes a lot easier.

Visit Mrs. G Appliances in Lawrence Township, just minutes from Princeton, to explore today’s ice makers, refrigerators and beverage solutions—and talk with our appliance experts about choosing the right products for the way you cook, drink and entertain.