Kickstarter Alert: Tudor Ice

A quick note for my readers: You may want to check out this new Kickstarter: www.tudorice.com/kickstarter. The concept is simple but interesting; Individually-packaged highly-purified water that can be used by bars or restaurants (or at home) to freeze large single-serving ice cubes for cocktails or for whisky “on the rocks“. I asked, and they have a plan for reclamation of the used packaging.

I personally prefer large ice cubes to small ones (I use a silicone freezer mold with my own filtered water): They add the right balance of meltwater and chill to a properly-made cocktail or low-end whisky, while smaller ice cubes melt too quickly and chill fast and then drop off, leaving you with a soupy watery mess instead of a cocktail that you can enjoy slowly.

Update 11/18/2015: The Kickstarter has been cancelled. I received a letter from the CEO of Tudor Ice:

“Thanks for reaching out. Below is the letter we sent to our supporters. Right now we are working with several large ice companies to see if we can get the funding we need to initiate production.
Dear Kickstarter Supporters,

First of all, thank you sincerely for backing our project. While I was very excited to have you join our family, it comes with a heavy heart that I must cancel our Kickstarter campaign. Since we are terminating the project before the campaign has run its course, your account will NOT be charged.

While we did achieve our $20,000 Kickstarter goal in a little less than 28 hours, we were not able to achieve our own internal funding goal. You see, we had set our Kickstarter goal lower than our real goal as we learned that in order to get the media behind the project, they like to write about successful campaigns.

Sadly, the $21,671 we raised on Kickstarter is just a fraction of what we needed in order to purchase the equipment and raw materials needed to initiate full production of Tudor Ice. Considering this, we have decided to put this project on hold until we are able to generate the resources necessary to move on to the next stage of production.

We never would have made it this far had it not been for early adopters such as yourself. All of us at Tudor Ice are very grateful for the opportunity and absolutely still think the idea is sound. If given the chance, we would love to bring the product to market and as soon as we have a new plan/strategy in place enabling us to do so, you will be among the first to know.”

Update 10/21: In the first 24 hours of their Kickstarter campaign, Tudor Ice has achieved 95% of its funding target!

An excerpt from their marketing materials:

Designed for the discerning drinker, Tudor Ice is addressing a void in the beverage industry for a premium ice product that is clean, slow-to-melt and purified. The company is giving early backers access to its revolutionary new product.

Traditional ice cubes are small; tending to melt quickly. This waters down spirits and cocktails, diluting the beverage. What’s more, ice cubes are found to become easily contaminated with bacteria. As it passes multiple hands from the ice machine to the customer’s table or seat at the bar, it’s exposed to germs.

In a recent study commissioned by Tudor Ice, one in four restaurants tested proved to have unsafe levels of bacteria in its Ice. The Tudor Ice Block’s unique packaging solves the issue while reducing dilution with its unique size and shape. It preserve the integrity of the spirit, providing a premium beverage experience. The Tudor Ice Block complements crafted cocktails and high-end, single-pour spirits, such as single malts and aged scotches.