Skull 3D Ice Ball Maker - Large Crystal Clear Ice Cube Tray - Whiskey Bourbon Cocktails

The Tinana and Berlinzo are essentially the same ice maker with two different labels. But there are some differences between the two, and to my mind, they do not favor the nearly twice as expensive Berlinzo:1. Physically, they are 98% identical. The only physical difference between these is that the Berlinzo is sheathed in a hard plastic outer casing with a satin black finish and some small, but nice, graphics. Between the two, this gives the Berlinzo a more “formal” and “classy” appearance. Seriously, it looks nice. If that matters to you, while it sits in your freezer, then it’s your ice maker of choice. Or, perhaps you want to give one of these as a gift; the Berlinzo does look nicer. [FWIW, their exterior shipping boxes are both nice, but to my mind, the Tinana is nicer in its simplicity.] Other than the Berlinzo’s outer shell, they are identical, and their parts are interchangeable. However, I think this outer shell contributes to difference #2.2. Per their instructions, the Tinana should be allowed to freeze for 30 hours, while the Berlinzo requires 40-48. If you’re on any kind of clock, that’s significant. Other than the thin satin plastic shell on the Berlinzo, I can think of no reason why the two devices should have such significantly different freezing times. Interestingly, the Berlinzo instructions specifically state that you should not freeze it for more than 50 hours, else there is a risk of cracking the shell. That strikes me as a disadvantage, or at least a risk of disadvantage. I found the freezing times for both devices accurate.3. The Berlinzo comes with a nice plastic bag in which to store your spheres. Unfortunately, it’s not really big enough to hold more than one batch at a time. Ziplock is your friend here.4. In all other respects, the two devices produce identical, almost entirely clear ice spheres when you follow the instructed times for freezing. And if you don’t, they also perform similarly. Pulling either device out of the freezer six hours ahead of time will reveal a not-fully-frozen base, and partially formed (about 75%) spheres. Also, if you decide to use warm or even hot water to slow the freezing process further, you’ll need to adjust your freezing time accordingly. I do, and have found an additional six hours (for a total of 36) in the Tinana works well, while the Berlinzo requires its full 48.5. The spheres from both devices also benefit from tempering. Without tempering, they didn’t always crack, but they did sometimes. And with tempering, none of the spheres cracked when room temperature whiskey was poured on them. Most people recommend five minutes for tempering, and that makes sense if the spheres are kept in an ice bucket or bowl. I found that when placed in individual glasses, 2-3 minutes seemed sufficient to avoid cracking. YMMV.I have attached pics showing the spheres side-by-side. They are indistinguishable. I also did a 90-minute melting test, with images taken at 00:00, 00:30, 01:00, and 01:30, with a sphere from each maker in a glass containing 2 ounces of water. Granted, water and booze are not the same thing, and holding a glass will speed the ice melting process. But all I wanted to do was compare how a sphere from each maker would perform in the same environment. Short answer: they melted identically. And that’s no surprise since they are almost identical in their construction, and entirely identical in their method. For me, the performance of both the Berlinzo and the Tinana are 5 stars, with the Berlinzo docked one star for value and the additional 10-18 hours of freezing time.With respect to some of the less positive reviews:1. Yes, it’s difficult to remove the rubber molds from the freezing box. It gets easier after first use, but they’re tight for a reason. I’m older, and my finger strength isn’t what it used to be, but I managed to get everything apart.2. It’s not difficult to fill the container or to get the molds topped up. A gooseneck kettle is handy for topping off.3. There is occasionally a little bit of excess ice around the seams (see pics), but it comes off easily.4. Depending on your water minerality, you may find you get better results by boiling the water first, filtering it with a real filter (Brita doesn’t cut it), etc. Distilled or RO/DI water doesn’t always produce more clarity. The people who make the OnTheRocks version of this (I use their box for cubes) have some videos with recommendations for “fine-tuning” your ice. We have off-the-charts hard water in our house, and a whole house softener that reduces, but does not eliminate, the hardness. The tap water produced quite acceptable ice spheres.5. With respect to water “wastage,” don’t rinse that ice block down the drain. Let it thaw and use it to water plants or pets or whatever. It’s perfectly clean water. It’s only waste if you waste it. Don’t throw it away!

This product is very well designed and made. The way everything fits together is great, the water reservoir, the foam and the silicone molds all function perfectly. The design is easy to assemble and more importantly easy to disassemble when frozen. It produces very clear ice spheres.For anyone thinking it’s fussy to make ice this way, it might be, but it has a lot of advantages. Large balls melt slower and cool more. Clear ice has no impurities, it lasts longer, and it doesn’t pick up that nasty freezer smell. It is a huge difference for anyone who doesn’t want to drink a watered down beverage that tasted like funk.For great results- just fill it with whatever and pop it in the freezer for 12-24 hours. This will be good enough for most, but you might see some imperfections. For near-perfect results, use filtered, mineral free water, and heat it to near boiling (this reduces the amount of dissolved gasses. Let it cook slightly then pop it in the freezer.

The round ice is great for whiskey drinks. As the ice is pretty large, one may need a slightly larger low-ball glass. The ice maker is also large but worth the time and effort. We make ice daily and store them in a freezer bag so we don't run out.

This works extremely well if you are just making one set of ice balls. However, its extremely difficult to quickly refill and place back in the freezer. The frozen block sticks in the rubber baffles at the bottom of the device, and the ice is hard to remove expediently.

This exceeded my expectations.I very carefully filled the container with filtered water to the fill line and topped off just a little bit. Stuck it in the freezer for a few days and voilà, crystal clear perfectly round ice spheres.These are better in every respect than the single-sphere hard plastic molds I’ve used in the past which created ice balls that were cloudy and deformed.I will probably purchase a few of these for my whiskey-guzzling friends :-)

Being obsessed with finding a clear spherical ice cube maker, this is the best I have found. I couldn't prevent the seams but they melt off. Cubes were impossible to extract right out of the freezer. I found leaving it standing out of the freezer for 15 minutes made it easier to extract the cubes. I will keep looking for the perfect cube maker.

My neighbors and friends are blown away by these ice balls. They look foggy in the second pic, this is because of condensation right when you crack them open. The ice balls last longer than my other standard ice balls, this is a nice bonus. The unit does take up some room in the freezer but IMO it is worth it.

This thing is so cool and it makes perfect ice cubes that are clear and sphere!!!

Es el mejor producto que e probado si te obsesionan las esferas de hielo perfectas y transparentes este producto es el ideal las esferas son imprecionantes

wanted the larger format ice ball for scotch - this makes them perfectly

Prepare to receive compliments from your guests.