From Water To Soda To Beer: 4 Ways To Quickly Chill Drinks In A Pinch

A cold drink is a time-tested companion, especially in the summer months. They can do wonders for our morale, though strangely enough, they don't actually reduce our internal body temperature (that's a popular cold-drinks-in-summer myth you should stop believing). We've all attended gatherings with instructions to "come thirsty" or "BYOB" (bring your own beverage) and honestly, there's something about having a drink in hand that makes conversations seem to flow a bit smoother. But in a hot outdoor setting, or perhaps indoors when the drinks have sat out on the same display table for hours, that magic can melt away ... literally. When the drink temperature drops, so might the mood. Luckily, we've gathered the best ways to quickly cool down your drink.

Whether it's water, soda, beer, or wine, we've got you covered. There are ways that involve the most obvious tools (like ice cubes) and obscure (like something you might find in your cleaning supplies closet). Each method we highlight takes fifteen minutes or less to get you back on track and enjoying your drink at the perfect chilled temperature (the quickest method is almost instant).

Most of us have assembled a cooler full of ice on a hot summer day, but fewer of us were taught adding salt to the mixture can help cool our drinks faster. Science dictates salt lowers the freezing point of water, thus, ice in a cooler of saltwater melts faster — especially on a hot summer day. But once ice begins to melt in a saltwater solution (also called a slurry), the solution stays much colder (for much longer) than water with no salt present. So if you're planning an all-day event, salt might be the key.

YouTube creators Mark Williams and Malcom Reed conducted an experiment on their channel "OutTheSmoke" to test two Styrofoam coolers — the control filled with bottles of beer and ice and the other filled with bottles of beer, ice, and rock salt. All bottles of beer started at the same temperature. After 20 minutes, the thermometer measured 32 degrees Fahrenheit inside the control cooler and one degree Fahrenheit inside the cooler with the rock salt. The beer pulled from the rock salt cooler had visible ice crystals and was turning to slush.

Once you've transferred your drink to an open container, add chunks of frozen fruit. Unlike ice, which eventually melts into whatever you're drinking and dilutes the taste, frozen fruit remains intact and can even add emphasis (like frozen grapes dropped into a glass of wine). Other fruits that work well are blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple cubes, and watermelon chunks. The trick does require minimal prep work. If there's enough room in your freezer, spread fruit out on a metal tray and freeze it about an hour before you plan to sip and mingle.

And since olives are technically fruit, don't forget them as well. If the open drink you're carrying happens to be olive-friendly (perhaps a classic dry martini), try one of these cool ice cube hacks and freeze olives by skewering them with a cocktail stick, placing in an ice tray with the stick facing upward, and filling the rest with water (or prosecco if you'd like a pop). If you do this ahead of time, you can simply place the stick of olives in your martini when it needs a chill (or for aesthetics or a flavor boost).

When you're in charge of planning a party, you'll likely stock up on paper towels. While they're great at absorbing spilt libations, they're also a powerful tool in keeping bottled drinks cold. The key is to get one damp, wrap it around the bottle, and stick it in the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes. This trick works great at backyard picnics when you need to cool a soda or beer fast, and restaurants use this method to quickly chill wine for customers.

The wet paper towel method uses evaporative cooling. As the water in the towel evaporates, it draws energy (or heat) from the surface of the bottle, thus cooling the bottle and liquid within it. When "Hip Science" conducted an experiment placing two bottles of beer inside a freezer for 15 minutes — one wrapped and one unwrapped — the beer inside the wet paper towel bottle measured about three degrees colder than the control bottle. Justin from "Hip Science" surmised the grooves and imprints of the wrapped paper towel increased the surface area of the flat bottle, which led to a greater heat transfer.

When you're fresh out of ice, frozen fruit, or freezer space, you might need to think outside the box. But if you happen to have a can of compressed air and sealable plastic container, you're in luck. According to a guest on the "Rachael Ray Show", these two items can be used to chill a canned beverage instantly. 

Pierce a small hole in the side of the plastic container and place one or two cans inside and seal the lid. Next, slide the extended nozzle of your compressed air can through the hole. Then turn the compressed air can upside down and spray. During the show segment, when Rachael Ray sprayed the can with her other hand on top of the container, she could see and feel frost forming on the lid. The canned drink was so cold when Ray attempted to take it out of the container, she jumped when she touched it.

However, as users in the comments of the segment pointed out, some cans of compressed air contain chemicals called bitterants, which can be harmful and unpleasant if ingested. So if you're planning to try this method, take a second to inspect the label and confirm your compressed air is professional grade and does not have a bitterant warning. If it doesn't, then you're in the clear, and this trick could be your fastest route to a cold drink in hand.