As New York City's bar owners and mixologists strive for the perfect drinking experience, Shintaro Okamoto encourages them to consider an often-overlooked detail — the quality of the ice.
Okamoto, 43, founded his namesake ice studio in 2003 while still in graduate school for fine art at Hunter College. His early business focused on ice sculptures before he also began crafting specialty ice for cocktail bars.
"Back then, even with so many events happening in New York and the city always looking for new things, ice sculpture was not well-established," says Okamoto, who was born in Fukuoka Prefecture.