What’s the key to a perfectly crafted cocktail? While the spirits, mixers, and garnishes tend to get all the glory, it turns out that the real secret to mixing up something truly exceptional has been right under our noses (and in our freezers) all along.
Ice is a foundational ingredient in any cocktail, although it has long been underappreciated and even unnoticed — that is, until now. Sean Meagher and Abby Puca, the husband-and-wife duo behind Twin Lakes Ice Co., are here to bring some much-needed clarity to the Hudson Valley. Twin Lakes Ice Co. produces and distributes 100-percent clear ice to bars and restaurants throughout Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, and Ulster Counties as well as the Catskills and Capital regions.
An Icy Idea
It all started in 2017 when Meagher accepted a head bartending position at Hudson restaurant Wm. Farmer and Sons. He presided over the bar program run by Richie and Paty Boccato of Dutch Kills, who helped him start up the in-house production of clear ice. At first, they used what’s known as the cooler method — where water is frozen in an Igloo cooler, then broken apart into smaller ice pieces using chisels, hammers, and chainsaws. “With all three bartenders spending hours before service making ice, it got pretty labor intensive,” Meagher remembers. Luckily, they were soon gifted a Clinebell block maker as well as a band saw and chainsaw for cutting. This allowed Meagher to spend just one day a week in the restaurant’s basement shop room cutting the frozen block to yield 300lbs of beautiful, clear ice cubes for customers.
It wasn’t long before other bars and restaurants in the area took notice. “Little by little, word got out that we had this block maker, and people would approach me to supply them with ice,” Meagher says. “But I wasn’t in the position to say yes at the time — we needed every last bit for our bar. So I had to keep turning them away.”
Over time, the requests kept coming, and Meagher approached his wife, Abby Puca, about the potential opportunity in front of them. “When I brought the idea to Abby, I got full support.” Puca has been living in the Hudson Valley for 17 years and also spent time working as a bartender, so she was familiar with the concept of clear ice and understood the value it added to a cocktail. “Not only does it make for a wonderful cocktail in terms of water content, temperature, clarity, and taste,” she says, “but it also has that visual appeal as well.”
Why Clear Ice?
Clear ice is nothing new in the world of mixology, but the difference between a clear ice cube and what’s typically found in the average hotel or restaurant cocktail isn’t inherently obvious. What sets it apart starts during production, which involves a method called directional freezing, where water is slowly frozen in one direction over the course of two to three days. While the water freezes, it’s being constantly circulated by air pumps, forcing out all the impurities and eliminating air bubbles. “So that’s why the ice from your ice tray or silicone molds at home have that white center or cloudy color. It’s freezing fast, and air and impurities are getting trapped,” Meagher explains.
As a result of the slow and methodical freezing process, clear ice will always lead to a superior cocktail. “In every cocktail, you want water,” says Meagher. “It’s an important ingredient that allows for balance, but you want to get the right amount. Clear ice melts at a slower pace, so as you’re sipping a cocktail, it’s going to slowly add water to it.” The benefits apply to shaken cocktails, too. “It allows you to shake for a longer period of time to get the right temperature without adding too much water,” he continues. “With normal ice, you can shake and get to that super cold temperature, but you’re going to end up adding so much water that you’re really kind of cheating your guests. Or, if you’re shaking for water content, you’re not going to get the right temperature — and nobody wants a not sufficiently chilled daiquiri.”
Armed with a vision and his wife’s support, Meagher brought their idea to his management team at Wm. Farmer and Sons, who allowed him to open and start his ice business from the restaurant basement. “We were very fortunate,” Meagher says. “Without them, none of this would be possible.”
Growing Twin Lakes Ice Co.
Business was intentionally slow at first, with Meagher and Puca deciding to take on only one client — a tiki bar located in New Paltz that approached Meagher through social media. Once they felt confident in their ability to take on more, they started working with their second account, The Maker in Hudson. They continued to grow slowly but steadily and, after a year, they had already outgrown their small basement ice shop.
They moved the business into a 1,500-square-foot warehouse space in Ghent with a 20×20 walk-in freezer, went from one block maker to five, bought a truck, and started to push toward expansion. As of now, every aspect of production and distribution is handled by Meagher, Puca, and a few part-time employees. On Fridays, Meagher spends four to five hours delivering bags of their hand-cut clear ice to their clients throughout the Hudson Valley. As a small business, their current account roster is beyond impressive, with dozens of local hotspots like Kitty’s, Casa Susanna, Night School, and Governor’s Tavern (to name a few) on the list of clear ice clientele.
With demand higher than supply, most of Twin Lakes Ice Co.’s explosive growth has been entirely organic. “I would say that mostly people reach out to us,” says Puca. “It’s a lot of people who are in the industry, who have worked with clear ice and understand the importance of having it in their bar program.”
But bars and restaurants aren’t their only focus. Twin Lakes Ice Co. also works with event companies and even individual clients to supply clear ice for weddings, birthday parties, and other residential gatherings. “What we’re trying to do is little by little get people to pull away from looking at clear ice as something that’s unattainable or only for the fanciest places,” says Meagher. “It’s really for every bar, and it’s not something that should break the bank. It’s something that anyone should feel comfortable fitting into their bar program or event budget. It should be shared and enjoyed by everybody.”
With the craft cocktail market exploding in recent years, Twin Lakes Ice Co. is uniquely positioned as a pioneer for the clear ice industry in the Hudson Valley. “The Hudson Valley is amazing because it’s a community that supports and appreciates small businesses,” says Puca. Meagher wholeheartedly agrees, adding, “there’s a lot of great product up here, and that shouldn’t stop at the dinner plate. It should continue to the glass.”
Through it all, what has remained most important is the foundational ethos of producing the highest quality clear ice and making it both affordable and accessible to everyone. “Whether you’re going to a high-end restaurant or your local tavern, you should be able to enjoy clear ice,” Meagher says.
While their future goals do include expansion, they’re happy with remaining local. “We want to expand, but not necessarily out of state,” says Meagher. They want to increase their coverage to include the Berkshires area and add even more variety to their product lineup. In addition to the currently offered standard cuts (such as cubes, spears, and spheres) along with custom cuts to accommodate any type of glassware, they’d like to introduce a higher-quality bagged ice than what’s on the market right now. They also hope to continue providing employment for those interested in the growing clear ice trade. “We’re seeing the value created for past and present employees who want to be a part of this industry,” Puca explains. “It’s really nice to open this opportunity for other people. And we’re finally at a point where we can take what we’ve built to the next level.”
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