Dubai’s thirst for luxury just hit freezing point. Residents can now sip on drinks chilled with ice cubes straight from a 100,000-year-old Greenland glacier — and they don’t come cheap. At Dh249 for six cubes, these crystal-clear Arctic blocks have travelled a staggering 20,000km to land in the UAE’s most exclusive venues.

Harvested from a 22-tonne chunk of pristine glacier ice, these cubes are processed at Dubai’s Natural Ice factory and are already making waves in some of the city’s restaurants. And if you fancy a sip of something extra special, Dubai’s swanky Nahaté restaurant is rolling out a series of ultra-luxurious cocktails, priced up to Dh700 — all featuring the Arctic ice as their signature touch.

Baccarat Chef’s Table, a high-end fine-dining hotspot in DIFC, is turning heads with its ultra-luxurious offerings. The venue houses the world’s first-ever Jacob & Co. private lounge in collaboration with the renowned American watch brand.

Tasked with crafting a one-of-a-kind cocktail menu, the restaurant’s beverage and marketing director, Andrey Bolshakov, has introduced a stunning lineup of drinks featuring 100,000-year-old glacier ice cubes. The creations pay homage to both Baccarat and Jacob & Co., with four cocktails inspired by the iconic crystal brand and six dedicated to the watchmaker’s legendary timepieces. Among them, the Astronomia cocktail, named after the brand’s showstopping watch, is served in an opulent blue Baccarat glass worth over Dh1,000.

How the cleanest form of ice is made 

According to the company Arctic Ice, which recently shipped a big chunk of ice to Dubai, says these parts of the ice sheets have not been in contact with any soils or contaminated by pollutants produced by human activities. Nor is this ice made in factories. So, how do they procure it? It is harvested from icebergs that have been already naturally detached from a glacier and are floating in the Nuuk fjord in Greenland.

Every iceberg undergoes meticulous manual selection and examination before being elevated onto its production vessel through the use of a crane and specialised lifting equipment. 

This stringent process guarantees the ice’s quality and purity. The company said that their sourcing strictly avoids extracting ice directly from the glacier. 

“Our ice can be used for all kinds of beverages, drinks, and food products. Some of our clients use it for beauty and ice baths because it’s the purest H20 on earth,” Samir Ben Tabib, chairman, international relations at Arctic Ice, was quoted as saying in a media report.

“Additionally, its structure makes it last longer in drinks, providing a premium experience in bars and restaurants.”

Originally discovered after a boat crash in Greenland, this rare ice is now making waves in a glass at some of Dubai’s top restaurants. 

(Source: KT)