How to Chill a Glass

It is not too bold a generalisation to claim that most drinks, particularly alcohol beverages, taste better cold. Of course some drinks like coffee do not really work cold, but unless the drink is specifically supposed to be hot then it is normally much better for it to be as cold as possible. There is nothing worse, than a drink that is merely luke warm or mild.

If you are a host then, it is your job to keep the drinks chilled, and one of the best ways to do this is to chill the glasses themselves. When you serve a hot meal it should come on a hot plate to keep it warm – so it stands to reason that when you serve a cold drink it should come in a cold glass. Here are a few methods to relatively quickly chill your drinks glasses.

Stand them outside: Standing a drinks glass outside will mean that it gets the cool air blowing on it, and this can cool them even faster than cooling them in the fridge as a result. However, be careful to avoid leaves and dust falling into the glass which will make it dirty and not pleasant to drink out of, and bear in mind that this will of course not work if the weather is very warm.

Stand them in the fridge: Of course this is the next best thing and if you have room you can stand glasses in your fridge to cool them down. The freezer is pretty much off limits as the extreme cold can cause some glasses to crack.

Stand them in an ice box/cooler: If you are putting your wine bottle in an ice chest or a cooler, then it can make quite a visual display that will also cool your glasses if you opt to stand them in the ice too. Make sure you wipe them down before you serve them up though as they will otherwise be wet.

Stand ice in them: Finally, while waiting try filling your glasses with ice. This will also cool the correct part of the glass as there is no need for the neck of the glass to be cold on your visitors' hands. It does however require you to have prepared by freezing some ice first.