FDDBI Clear Ice Ball Maker for Whiskey: Circle Ice Cube Tray Make 2Inch Ice Sphere - Clear Ice Cube Maker for Old Fashioned Bourbon Whisky

Excellent item. Guests were impressed.

I bought two clear spherical ice cube makers: This product: FDDBI Circle Ice Cube Tray Make 2 Inch Ice Sphere - Clear Ice and: WIBIMEN Clear Ice Cube Maker - 2.5" Ball - Stainless Steel Clear Ice Maker I like them both and would buy both again. I find I prefer the different sizes for different glasses and drinks. The 2.5” is perfect for squat, short and wide glasses, whereas it is to big for others I am giving the FDDBI a 4 rating. It doesn’t seem as sturdy as the WIBIMEN. It has lots of plastic. But it does make cubes faster since it makes 8 at a time. I am giving the WIBIMEN a 5 rating. It is stainless steel and silicone, no plastic which I like. It is simpler to set up to freeze and remove ice cubes than the FDDBI. But it does take longer since each cube is in a separate mold. It looks like it is sturdier and will probably last longer. I’ve had both for about a month. If WIBIMEN made a 2” spherical maker, I’d buy some of those too instead of the FDDBI. Both work. Both make nice mostly clear ice: frosty on the outside but once in a drink the frost disappears and the ice is clear. Fun little gadgets.

After much trial and error experimentation to get this to work, It does make ice but is highly dependent on water quality, time & temperature. When using plain cold tap water the ice formed is not very clear, bubbles, cloudy etc… Directions suggest using distilled water, that will never happen, worst tasting water money can buy. I get fantastic results from an old 6 pack size Coleman Cooler filled about 2/3 full of water in a 0 degree freezer for @ 18 hours. This product’s design can be improved. My best results come from using very hot tap water and around 20 to 22 hours in a 0 degree freezer. Doing this results in almost clear ice, no bubbles, no cloudiness. My results suggest an increased volume of water and perhaps better insulation to slow down the process of ice formation so as not having to resort to using distilled water and/or hot water, 24 to 30 hours is way too long a time in the freezer.

Expensive but worth it for quality

I think if you’re looking for larger ice balls, this is not the product you need to buy. I don’t know if they make larger ones but these balls are slightly small.