Don’t Buy Discounted Ice Trays

Shake it Up

My love of life and I went to a mixology workshop a little while back. First, the experience was great; you get to learn the craft, drink, and enjoy with like-minded people. Once you do that, you get to raise your nose at cheap drinks from your local pub, so be careful about developing your taste too much. It can get expensive.

Of course, after some experimentation and a few glasses, they tell you that you have a rebate to their adjacent store for that evening only. Hence, the great-looking shaker and the two classy glasses (among many other things) in the photo above. In any case, it was a great event, zero regrets.

We are now experts at Sours and Long Drinks. Instead of learning one specific recipe, we learned formulas that you can apply to any alcohol of your choice and mix ingredients in a balanced way. Perhaps that’s why they call it mixology, right?

This is not an affiliate link, but if you are curious, you can find the workshop here.

That day we also spotted some discounted ice trays near the register, and this is how the story begins…

They were designed to make very small cubes, a super-cute model, black and sleek. There were also huge ones, which were 2–3 inch squares. We thought they would be perfect to go with our, now expert, mixology kit. We bought them without hesitation, and with that alcohol-driven confidence we were proudly displaying.

Goldilocks and the Three Ice Trays

Turns out the smaller ones are almost unusable unless your drink is already ice cold before you put them in; otherwise, you end up with a quite watered-down concoction, and traces of ice stay in it for a mere 5 minutes if you are lucky.

The huge trays give you blocks so large that only one fits in a coffee cup unless you melt the edges under running water first. Very cool for chilling a pitcher or using in a shaker, but not ideal for the drink itself.

Our perfect ice tray was somewhere else. We found it in the posh cookware shop in our neighbourhood. (We also bought a pan there, and I feel it deserves an article of its own… But back to ice cubes.) This tray made cubes slightly larger than usual, square, with a lid. No discount, no flashy label. Just a feeling. And wow, they are perfect. The ideal companion for our best creations.

Don’t be in the Discounted Bin

I cannot resist generalizing a little and bringing some pop philosophy onto the stage. It is easy to get fooled by discounts or by people who are too approachable in life. The path of least resistance often feels right at first, but usually it is not. You lose time with imperfect choices and possibly miss out on the right ones.

And if you reverse the metaphor… if you are the ice tray, do not discount yourself. Stand proud and be the great person you are. By not throwing yourself into the bargain bin, you give yourself the chance to be discovered for your own qualities, not by people looking for anything that “will do” before realizing you never fit their needs. Even the small tray has a purpose. You simply need the right person who values your particular strengths.

Before I even finished this article, we bought another discounted ice tray… So much for learning. Sometimes it is harder to change a behaviour than to simply notice it. But this one was in the shape of smiley faces, and so far, we have actually found it useful. So maybe sometimes the discounted ones are good, especially when you choose them with the benefit of experience and a clear eye on their actual utility.

Maybe that is the real lesson. Not avoiding discounted things or chasing full-price perfection, but learning how to choose with intention. Taste evolves, judgment sharpens, and eventually you know when something is a bargain and when it is simply cheap. The same goes for people, opportunities, habits, and even the stories we tell ourselves.

Sometimes you walk away. Sometimes you pick up the smiley-face ice tray because it sparks a small joy and actually does the job. Wisdom is not about never making the same mistake twice. It is about noticing the pattern, smiling at it, and deciding “this time” whether it serves you.

Life is a long mixology workshop. You experiment, you spill a little, you taste, you adjust. And with every round, you get closer to your own perfect balance, without ever finding it as your taste evolves with your skill level.