There’s one component of a good cocktail that’s just as important as the liquor but often gets overlooked: having good ice. It’s so important that we even devote an entire section of our spirits reviews to describing how ice impacts the flavor profile of the spirit. It’s so important that some people even spend $200 on a finnicky and pretentious Glacious LE 60mm Ice Ball Press to ensure that you have a *perfect* sphere to chill your drink without quickly watering it down (I am looking at you, Nick). Given this importance, I thought that I would try a product that seemed to be following me around the internet: a Siligrams Customizable Ice Cube Tray.
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Siligrams is a newer company founded by high school friends Ben and Clay, two men with an idea and a dream. During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, they were inspired by enthusiasts creating custom silicon molds of iconic Baltimore landmarks and saw an opportunity for helping people make their own custom ice cube trays. They dubbed their creation Siligrams, a portmanteau of silicone and monogram.
Their online storefront offers custom ice trays in a variety of different sizes and shapes; cubes, hexagon, cylinder, and spheres. There you can select your shape, size, number of cavities, and, of course, how you want to customize your tray, and Siligrams takes care of the rest.
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I started my design with the basic custom ice cube tray, choosing a black silicon mold with room to make 4 large 2” cubes. You are given the choice to customize your tray with a monogram, text, or a graphic and so I did the natural thing — in flagrant violation of copyright and trademark law, I uploaded the Thirty-One Whiskey logo.
It was remarkably easy to make your selections and complete your order for your personalized ice tray, but I’ve been burned by custom designed one-off products before. I was a little concerned about how an image like our logo would turn out, so I waited for the shipping notice to see the final result. To my surprise, I received a final proof asking about some edits that had to be made to the image for it to be ice worthy.
Unfortunately, your artwork contained text that did not meet our sizing constraints and the lettering was altered to meet these constraints. For this reason, the serifs had to be removed, and the “e” had to be filled in. Please review the below proof and advise if you approve or if you require changes to be made to the design. We will send up to two additional proofs before a charge will be applied for any further proofs requested.
What I really appreciated was that the company took the time to not only do a proper proof of my design, but they also had the expertise and attention to detail required to alter the provided images in a way that maximized the end result. And the fact that they were happy to do this up to three times with no additional charge was very generous.
As for their edits, I understand that there are some constraints in the machining process, and I think the edits were minor enough that the finished product would produce the logo as expected in the final ice. I approved the proof, and a few days later my new tray arrived.
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I made my first batch of cubes following the recommendations included:
- Use distilled water
- Use a toothpick, chopstick, etc. to ensure there are no bubbles in the bottom
- Remove your cubes with gentle pressure from the bottom
- Mix your drink first, then add your ice
I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised at the results.
The end result is very close to the final proof, and the changes recommended by the Siligrams team were spot on. Looking at the logo on the ice, I understand why the serifs needed to be removed and why the ‘e’ had to be filled in. It’s not a perfect recreation of the logo, but it is the best I could have possibly hoped for from a silicone ice cube tray.
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Following the initial batch of ice I tested, I’ve used this tray repeatedly with great success. It provides a fun touch to go with your drinks, and could see the desire to become a repeat customer. For this surprisingly useful novelty (after a 15% first time customer discount) my total came to $102 before taxes, which included the tray, customization, and a lid.
Overall, I think this is a great product. I have other 2” cube trays, but they are more difficult to remove the ice and not as fun, so I find myself going back to this tray time and time again.
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Overall Rating: 5/5
Plenty of options and price points for a custom ice tray that performs really well; it would also make a great gift.
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