We all want to shower our guests with attention, and we do so by offering them delicious dishes and beverages. As a result, cocktails have recently become a way to impress others and spend fun times with family and friends at home.

The easiest way to do it is with a well-stocked bar containing a wide range of liquors, juices, and syrups, so you can prepare beautifully presented alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks. But what few bartenders will confess is that having an ice machine that makes perfect nuggets that are ideal for cocktails is essential if you want to win your guests over.

Ice that makes the difference

Why are little ice nuggets so important for cocktails and smoothies? The answer is simple, but not obvious. Soft, and chewy ice absorbs the flavor of ingredients, dilutes strong ones, and turns any mix into a refreshing and enjoyable drink.

Brilliance® Nugget Ice Machine, model SCN60 by Scotsman is the secret weapon that’ll turn you into everyone’s favorite bartender. Any drink you prepare using this machine (from a soft drink to a mojito) will become a unique experience.

The Brilliance® Nuggets produced by Scotsman’s SCN60 model are a compacted chunk of flake ice, softer than normal ice cubes, so the drinks prepared with them will have that fun touch of small, easy-to-crush ice.

This is also a low energy and water consumption equipment, which produces up to 80 pounds (37 kilos approximately) of ice nuggets in 24 hours. This is a user-friendly machine that can be part of any outdoor or indoor kitchen because it’s made of stainless steel, so it looks flawless in any type of decoration.

3 classic drinks that Scotsman will make unforgettable

Let’s say you’re planning a barbecue this Sunday for your son’s friends and their parents, and you want to make a good first impression with special drinks. Well, here are three simple recipes to achieve this goal:

• Banana Smoothie. For this drink mix banana, milk, vanilla, and sugar in a blender. For a special touch you can substitute the milk for vanilla ice cream (then, you won’t need the sugar) and serve in short glasses with ice halfway up. The kids will love it.

• Piña colada. This popular tropical drink is perfect for any occasion. All you need is pineapple juice (concentrate is better), coconut cream, white rum, and brown sugar. There are no specific measurements for the recipe, but our only recommendation is to use a good coconut cream. Mix all the ingredients in a blender, serve in glasses with plenty of ice nuggets, and decorate with a piece of pineapple.

• This one is a must, and it can be prepared without rum. The secret is to put sugar, lime, and mint in a mortar, crushing everything well so the flavors combine, then transfer this mixture to a short glass, and pour the white rum. Then add plenty of ice chips and sparkling water and stir so that the liqueur doesn’t remain on top. Cheers!