Ask any great cocktail bartender and they'll tell you the thing that turns a good cocktail into a great one, is the ice. That's the concept Noah Sokoloff and Chris Vandergrift have built an entire business around. Philadelphia Craft Ice is the first artisanal ice company in Philly focused on elevating the quality of cocktail making with clear ice, and business is booming.

300 lbs ice blocks stored in 18x18ft freezer

They cut and sold their first cube of ice in August of 2023. Now they're producing around 12,000 cubes per week and some of the best cocktail bars in Philadelphia are jumping on board, with clients like a.kitchen & bar, My Loup, Friday Saturday Sunday, Vernick Restaurants, The Four Seasons, R&D, Andra Hem, Middle Child Clubhouse, Irwin's Upstairs, Bar Almanac, and many more ordering ice every week. If you see that signature clear ice cube in the glass, it's more than likely from Philadelphia Craft Ice Co.

The Franklin Mortgage Company, well known for cutting their own ice in-house even decided to pivot and carry Philly Craft Ice. Head bartender Nico Diaz explains, “those guys are putting out fantastic product at such a reasonable price that our own bandsaw hasn’t been touched in several months. Working with Philadelphia Craft Ice Co. makes my job a bit easier because elite-quality large format ice is now one less area of my beverage program I need to obsess over.”

Sokoloff has worked in sales in the beer, wine, and spirits industry for over 20 years and describes the inspiration behind their ice company as coming from Washington D.C., where he really started noticing clear ice.

"A bar called The Green Zone took me in the basement and showed me their ice operation where they harvested large blocks and cut them down by hand. It seemed like the city had created a new standard for cocktail ice. Most of the bars I was selling spirits to were using beautiful ice. Restaurants were starting to really match the level of creativity and quality of food service with their beverage programs. Philadelphia is one of the best food towns in the country and I wanted to help our city become one of the best cocktail cities as well."

White Negroni at a.ktichen & bar with Philadelphia Craft Ice 

Now he's on a mission to educate people about the importance of clear ice. What's so great about clear ice? For starters, it's denser than other ice because there is no air trapped in the ice. That means it's slower to melt and keeps your drink cold, without over dilluting it. You can enjoy the cocktail the way the bartender intended from the first sip to the last. Also, it looks stunning in a drink.

So what makes Philadelphia Craft Ice so different? We got an inside look at their workshop to find out.

It all starts with highly filtered water using reverse osmosis, a water softener, and carbon filter. Special directional freezing machines are used that freezes the water from the bottom up and it circulates the water as it's freezing so air doesn't get trapped inside. This eliminates the impurities like what you would see in normal cloudy ice. 

Some of the machines make two blocks at a time, one makes four at a time. They take about three to four days to freeze.

When the ice is ready, they vacuum the last of the water off of the blocks. They then hoist the 300 lbs blocks out of the containers with an engine hoist and place it onto a tilt cart that helps stand the blocks upright. 

Once the block is placed upright, they cut the large block with a horizontal bandsaw into narrow slabs.

Then they use a Biro bone saw to cut the slabs into sticks and then cubes.

Sticks of ice before being cut into cubes

One 300 lbs block of ice yields roughly 650 cubes of two inch size. Any cubes that have flaws are discarded. 

After they cut the cubes they place them on trays in the freezer to cure (so they don't stick together) and then bag for delivery.

Bags of ice are delivered to clients in coolers kept cold with dry ice to prevent tempering.

Philadelphia Craft Ice Co. doesn't just provide ice service for their clients, they're also a full on marketing partner. Bars and restaurants could certainly make and cut their own ice, but working with Philly Craft Ice is a strategic partnership. Take a look at their Instagram account and you'll see posts of all their different accounts, promoting to their followers to support the bars they're in. It's getting to the point where cocktail bars that don't carry Philadelphia Craft Ice are the ones behind times and everyone wants to be part of the club. It's more than just business, the industry community wants to support each other and they want Philly Craft Ice to succeed. 

Mary's Lamb at Emmett with Philadelphia Craft Ice: absinthe, calvados, sweet cherry vinegar, lamb fat washed rye

"Noah and the team behind Philly Craft Ice do a lot for the service industry community," says Petra Johnson, Bar Manager of Emmett in Fishtown. "Not only through attention to detail and phenomenal service for accounts, but also through community events with a focus on volunteering and charity. They are a true asset to our hospitality community."

Sokaloff and Vandergrift are rapidly taking over the industry, and just like how the right ice can turn a good cocktail into a great one, Philadelphia Craft Ice is helping turn a great cocktail city into an even better one.
 

Philadelphia Craft Ice Co
245 N Main St, Suite 102, Ambler, PA 19002
215.450.5071
@phillycraftice

Photos by Drink Philly