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In Japan, the obsession with making perfect cocktails is like France's obsession with perfecting the soufflė. The skilled and creative bartenders in the Ginza area of Tokyo compete like crazies to perfect their mixed drinks, and everything from the material of the cocktail shaker to the style of the shake is in play. Now, from Taisin Trend Shop, comes an ice mold that makes the perfect ice sphere for your cocktail, and it's only $1299 US.

The perfect ice cube (one assumes there is a bartender consensus) is 55 millimeters, a little over 2 inches, in diameter. It's shape is spherical, as the reduction in exposed sides keeps the ice from melting. One solid steel Ice Mold can make ice cubes for a lifetime (and then some), but it takes almost 2 minutes to make one ice cube, so bartenders, you better be having a slow night.

You take a chunk of ice, large than 55 mm, and place it in the mold, a thermo-conductive metal, and as the ice melts the spherical crystal is created. When the top and bottom portions of the mold come together, the perfect ice cube is ready and can be ejected from the mold with a lever.

The perfect ice cubes are not only perfect for cocktails and other chilly drinks, the spheres are really kind of elegant. I don't know if Swarovski could do much better.

via CScout. Sources: The Japan Times, Japan Trend Shop