Erewhon is a luxury market that has left some customers frozen in their tracks. That’s because they’re pedaling a bag of 8 large ice spheres for a whopping $32, a price tag that has bewildered shoppers unfamiliar with the ice’s purpose: cocktails. Produced by the brand Penny Pound Ice, Ballz are not meant to be used in your Stanley tumbler but are to be placed alone in an alcoholic beverage. The ice is not the same as the ice your freezer can produce — it’s all about the water you start with. Penny Pound uses constantly agitating water that doesn’t allow for impurities to settle. Instead, they rise to the top and are removed, leaving a clear 300-pound block of ice that is cut to be the final product. While the frozen cubes are complete after being sawed into shape, the spheres require further steps to be molded into perfect globes, which are produced either with a drill press or metal mold and then compressed into ice cubes of different shapes. The company also manufactures miniature spheres, diamonds, cubes, pyramids, spears, and blocks that contain thyme, edible orchids, and even gold flakes. Social media users have voiced their opinions, saying that the price tag is preposterous and calling the celebrity grocer “out of touch with reality."
