SCIENCE OF SHAKING: DOES CRUSH ICE DILUTE MORE?

The answers is yes and no depending on what you are comparing. Wet crushed ice will dilute more then whole large wet ice. Using large whole ice resulted in a 21% ABV. Wet crushed ice had a 20% ABV. In an ideal bar, ice is wet from being exposed to ambient temperature. Crush ice has a larger amount of surface area exposed to the liquid then the large whole ice. So, more water will be trapped on the surface of crushed ice because of the greater amount of surface area exposed to the liquid.  As a result, wet crush ice will dilute a drink more then wet large ice. What if both ices weren’t wet? Experiments centrifuging the crush ice and large whole ice of excess water showed that the ABV was approximately 21.5% when both types of dry ice were shaken in a drink. There was no difference between the dry crush ice and the dry whole ice. A good bartender will know the size and amount of ice needed for the right amount of dilution for a particular cocktail. 

More info can be seen at Cocktail Science: Does Crush Ice Dilute More?

Photo courtesy of Justin Dunn