November 8, 2014

chilly Bonefish Grill ice glasses and 1 other surprising drink IN ice

a cosmo served in an ice glass at Bonefish Grill. The rubber holder insulates your fingers and lowers the odds that your waiter will have to clean up ANOTHER broken, slippery, ice glass cocktail 😉

updated 7/20/23 with seo and formatting. Also, the Bonefish Grill ice glass looks to be a thing of the past these days. Most references to them are from 2014, around the same time that I went. Sadly, those chilly little glasses didn’t make the permanent menu 😥

checked out the Bonefish Grill ice glasses

I went to Bonefish Grill a couple of times recently, once in Mobile, AL and once in New Orleans. Each time, I ordered something with an ice glass, partly to see how it worked out and partly for the novelty. Initially, I’d heard that they had ice glasses on a radio ad; otherwise I wouldn’t have known to order it. I don’t know of any other national chains offering anything in ice glassware, so I thought it was worth a look. Besides, if I’m going to go to a chain restaurant, Bonefish Grill is probably my first choice.

this Bonefish Grill ice glass is from a mold, obviously

The first time, when I went to the location in Mobile, I ordered a cosmopolitan, which they called their Cold Snap Cosmo. They were pretty laid back about it and I think I could have gotten any drink I wanted in the glass, short of a Cold Snap Jäger Bomb. You can see in the picture above that the glass is definitely molded (it’s cloudy) and it’s not exactly “perfect.” The extra chunk of ice was easily broken off though and it’s not like it was going to cut my lip.

Btw, I would have said that it was CLEARLY from a mold, but it’s not clear, at all 🤣

don't wear your best clothes

Of course, I’ve had drinks in ice glasses before. Drinking from an ice glass is often an adventure in trying to not spill all over yourself; you might feel like you need a sippy cup! The ice glass isn’t quite as effective at directing the drink as a plastic or glass version. Plus, it’s melting itself.

And there was an extra level of hazard in this case. Turns out, if you let your drink sit too long, it melts a bit into the little flexible plastic coaster/cup that it comes in (the red thing above). And then, when you go to take a sip, that’s the spillage that gets you the worst, the water that’s collected in the cup. I’m thinking that maybe, instead of a plastic cup, why not something that’s a little absorbent? Just an idea.

a bit of the menu at Bonefish Grill Mobile

this ice glass was for food service too

While I was in Mobile, I took a pic of the menu (above). I must have taken the picture AFTER I had the cosmo, since the pic is a little blurry. But you can see that they have a Cold Snap Shrimp Cocktail. As it turns out, that’s pretty much what I ended up ordering for an appetizer when we went to check out the New Orleans Bonefish Grill (actually Metairie).

I think the Nola version of the Cold Snap Cocktail (below) had a few more ingredients, however. I was told there were scallops and some additional fish thrown in, which was fine with me. It was good, but it definitely turns into cold fish soup if you let it sit for more than a couple of minutes or if the waitstaff is a little slow. Not sure what I thought about the chips though; that was kind of an odd combination.

the Cold Snap Cocktail at the New Orleans area Bonefish Grill

more drinks IN ice: Coca-Cola

There might be more these days than just Bonefish Grill ice glasses to check out, since they’re not the only one experimenting with ice drink service. You might have heard of Coca-Cola’s try with ice bottles in Colombia.

This looks to be quite a bit more tricky than simple glassware and one of the speakers in the clips below backs that up. The first clip is from one of the involved parties, while the second is a cheesy media commentary on the concept. However, it shows something that’s not in the first clip: the actual mold. (Well, probably the actual mold; no way for me to know.) They also mention that Coca-Cola was trying the idea in Japan too.

update (1/15/22): Unfortunately, it looks like someone pulled down the first video (which happens a lot, apparently). So there’s only the video below at the moment. If I can find a substitute, I’ll add it later.

There’s a view of the bottle mold with an insert in this video at about 0:22.

It seems like it’s mainly a media stunt and not something that Coca-Cola will be rolling out at the supermarket anytime soon. But it certainly looks like they got their money’s worth if the media attention in the first clip is any indication. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try it at a major event at some point, once they’ve gotten the kinks worked out.

To sum up, ice glassware is definitely an attention-getter. And because of that “look at me” potential, you’re going to see it show up here and there from time to time, where it’s possible to make it work. Bonefish Grill has managed it…mostly. And Coca-Cola created a bit of a media splash with their somewhat more sophisticated but limited foray. So keep an eye out for ice glasses and bottles out and about, with nary an ice bar or ice hotel in sight.

P.S. And finally, to answer the question that somebody’s eventually going to ask: No, your lips and/or tongue will not freeze to the ice glass or ice bottle. Think it through, and you’ll realize why not.