How to make a lot more margaritas

The season has changed, and with the rising temperature comes the rising need for icy-cool drinks. In some places, like here in Brooklyn, the transition from a bitter winter to a cool and rainy spring to a hot and muggy summer can be very abrupt. So abrupt, in fact, that I find myself being shocked at how easily I had forgotten what it feels like to be hot. The other day I filled my ice tray for the first time since last summer, and in true Boy Scout spirit, prepared myself for the next time I needed a frozen margarita or other frosty libation to beat the heat.

But once the hot season hits, the paltry 14-cube capacity tray just doesn't seem to cut it. If every time I have iced tea I use four cubes, then my supply runs out just after my third glass. Are three glasses of tea worth that effort? What if I want to share?

If you're planning on hosting a Fourth of July rooftop barbecue, don't tell me you're planning on using that 14-cube tray. And please, forget about buying nine more trays so that you have a stack of 10 trays, because by my calculations, you'll be able to squeeze 35 drinks out of them (not worth the price in freezer space). And those gigantic bags of ice? Sure, they'll do the job, but who wants to spend the first half hour of their party throwing a 50-pound bag onto a concrete garage floor or stabbing a block with an ice pick?

If you're willing to spend the cash, consider yourself host of the year with the Scotsman Brilliance residential icemaker. It makes up to 50 pounds of ice per day (as much as the biggest bag you can buy). The cubes have a shape that both extends the time they stay frozen in the glass and prevents them from sticking together in the machine, so you can forget about packing your ice pick on your way to the party.

Aside from the more obvious perks, the Brilliance ice maker is also hopping on the environmentally friendly bandwagon as people mentioned in previous posts like the green restaurant and the Whirlpool conceptual green kitchen. It uses 50 percent less energy and water than previous models, comes with a lower-energy LED display, and has a self-closing door to conserve the cold in case you forget to or your hands are full. It also has a water-quality sensor that automatically adjusts to accommodate for different types of water. This is a godsend for people who live in areas that are particularly polluted or in buildings with older pipes, since the chemicals and minerals in the water could potentially make cleaning the machine a nightmare. Simply put, the Scotsman's self-monitoring capabilities and environmentally thoughtful operation make for better cubes, just in time for summer.