Go Neat: 3 Reasons To Say No To Ice

Whoa there, fella. Take a step back from that ice machine for a second and consider what you're about to do. You may think that filling your cup with ice is a matter of personal preference, but it's the quality of your soft drink that suffers the most. Skeptical? Then consider this--there are three perfectly good reasons to skip the cubes (or chips, if you prefer):

#1 - The soda is already cold.

Don't laugh. This is a fundamental step in kicking away the supports that prop up the fallacy of ice-as-need. Seriously. You think restaurants need ice to cool down their beverages before they serve them? It's not like they're buying two-liter bottles in bulk at Sam's and then stacking them on the shelves in their pantries. That' s what your uncle Theo does. Using ice in this capacity is basically functionless. In fact, the longer the ice lingers in your cup, the more it starts to work against you, illustrated by my next point.

#2 - Ice is a natural dilutant.

We all know this. When's the last time you heard someone use the term "watered down" to describe their new favorite flavor? But that's what most of us do every time we order. We're in the habit of neutering our beverage's potency. It's as if the comfort of jingling the ice in our drinks has hypnotized us to its inevitably bland effects. Not convinced? Well, if I can't sway you on an aesthetic level, maybe a financial appeal would be more persuasive. Cue point number three.

#3 - You're paying for volume.

And wasting half of it on frozen water. This, I believe, is why restaurants serve ice by default. They aren't stupid. Ice is cheap. If they can get away with charging you for a 16 oz. cup, and then filling it with only 8 oz. of actual product, why wouldn't they? (Side note: this is also what those darned potato chip companies have started doing. They sell you a bag full of mostly air, with the chips taking up only about a third of the bag. They say "natural settling may occur." Whatever. They know a good racket when they see one.)

True, while this last point is less of an issue in the age of free refills, a lot of us simply eat on the go nowadays. In fact, 70% of the meals ordered out are now eaten in our cars. OK, I made that last part up. But it sounds good. And I'm sure someone has done a study that might back me up to some extent.

Anyway, the body of evidence still stands in favor of going neat. And be honest, the only reason you really want ice is because you like chewing on it after the drink is finished. That's bad for your teeth. Ask any dentist. Seventy percent of them would agree with me.