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A Norwegian company is hoping to give a world the gift of more luxurious cocktails. Its plan? To mine a glacier that’s thousands of years old and sell the ice to high-end restaurants and bars.
The company is called Svaice - a play on the name of the Svartisen glacier (Norway's second largest) and the word ice - and has already received interest from prospective clients in Dubai, The Local reports.
“Our product is 100 percent natural, thousands of years old, and very luxurious. We guarantee goosebumps and a memorable moment for those who can find it," the company website states. "The ice cubes are remains from the last ice age 10.000 years ago. They are proven to be as natural, pure and healthy as mineral water."
Company founder Geir L. Olsen describes the ice from the glacier as “compact” with the ability to “thaw easily.“ “Meanwhile, it’s very clean and has a good taste. This means you do not noticeably dilute the drink,” he said.
The Svartisen Glacier
According to The Local, Svaice has received a government grant which gives the company the green light to perform its first ice excavation, The project is expected to bring some jobs to the area and it’s found some support with local politicians including the mayor of the municipality closest to the glacier.
However, the plan also has its opponents. One of them being Nina Jensen, Secretary General of WWF in Norway, who doesn’t think it’s right to mine the glacier for cocktail ice.
“It seems very strange that the government should provide support to mine Svartisen when we know that it is shrinking because of climate change,” she told The Local. “I do not think it is right to create short-term jobs by eating up the last parts of a glacier which is about to disappear.”
Criticism hasn't put a chill on Svaice's plans. The company affirms it would only mine a small part of the glacier that is already melting and it wouldn’t make it shrink any faster. "The amount of ice that we are going to take out is literally just a cup of water in the ocean," the company’s website claims.
Gourmet ice has been a rising trend in restaurants so what could be more exciting than sipping a cocktail made with ice from an ancient glacier?
Via The Daily Meal | The Local
