Bottoms Up: Thousand-Year-Old Ice Cubes The Latest Luxury Trend
The latest luxury in the better class of bar in Dubai is likely to be ice cubes, produced from the very best thousand-year-old ice from a glacier in Norway. It will probably knock you back a bit more than the average cocktail but apparently it really tastes great.
The brand new Norwegian start-up, Svaice, says on its website that their product is “100 percent natural, more than a thousand years old and very luxurious.”
“We guarantee goosebumps and a memorable moment for those who can find it.”
The ice will be treated in what they dub “The World’s most Environmental [sic] Friendly Factory” up in the far north of Norway. For anyone worried about the impact of harvesting the product, Svaice gives several reassurances.
They state that the spot where they get the ice is outside of a national park, so it will not affect the beauty of the landscape. There will be no “wounds” left in nature from harvesting the ice.
It is apparently “soon-to-be” calving ice, which according to them becomes melting water anyway.
Processing the ice is done on equipment that apparently “runs green” and there will be no waste in production, zero emissions and only melting water.
Packaging will be fully recyclable and the company reassures that they are not destroying anything for future generations. In fact, they state that despite other areas where ice is melting and reducing, this particular glacier is growing in thickness. They further state that the amount of ice they will take from that glacier will be equivalent to taking a cup of water out of the ocean.
According to Svaice they have won a 250,000 kroner ($33,000) grant from a state forestry group and the Nordland county council to set up their pilot ice excavation operation on the Svartisen glacier, pictured above.
The company’s founder, Geir L. Olsen, says he has already visited Dubai to market the thousand-year-old ice and apparently the response was positive.
Olsen told the local Norwegian language TV station, NRK that ice from the glacier is compact and thaws slowly, making for the perfect addition to a cocktail.
“Meanwhile, it’s very clean and has a good taste. This means that you do not noticeably dilute the drink.”
RT @livelikeburning: “Yeah, but are they using 1000-year-old Glacial ice to chill their drinks?” | http://t.co/H2rdHKvWCA
— Wine & Beyond (@WineBeyond) February 23, 2015
The mayor of the nearby Meløy municipality, Per Swensen, says he is hoping this project will bring much-needed jobs to the area and that he likes the idea.
“Imagine being able to drop a more than one-thousand-year-old ice cube into your glass. It undoubtedly sounds quite exclusive.”
While the company says on its website that the glacier is growing, rather than shrinking, some people disagree, saying Svartisen is shrinking due to climate change.
Artisanal ice: #Norway company to mine #glacier #ice for high end drinks. Humans directly ablating glaciers? http://t.co/7K5JRkcVQ6
— Jeff McKenzie (@cryohydrogeo) February 22, 2015
The Local quotes Nina Jensen, Secretary General of WWF in Norway as saying she doesn’t think it right to start a project like this that cannot be long-term.
“I do not think it is right to create short-term jobs by eating up the last parts of a glacier which is about to disappear.”
Despite this, Svaice insists that their idea is a good one and besides Dubai, they plan to market their exclusive ice to the better bars and restaurants worldwide, as well as to the luxury cruise industry.
Meanwhile the rich and famous can look forward to enjoying a really exclusive ice cube in their drink courtesy of Svaice thousand-year-old ice.
If you had the money, would you try it? While you are at it, indulge in a little “White Gold,” which the Inquisitr reports is the world’s most expensive caviar at $40,000 per teaspoon.
[Image: Svartisan glacier CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Anita, cocktail with ice CC BY-NC 2.0 Andreas Levers]
