Prestigious cocktail lounges in the UAE entice customers with a novel offering: opulent ice sourced from Arctic glaciers.
A Greenland-based company named Arctic Ice is harvesting ice from the country’s diminishing glaciers. The startup claims to sell the ‘purest ice in the world’ to exclusive cocktail bars in Dubai for chilling drinks. Arctic Ice emphasizes that its iceberg ice has minimal taste, preventing any alteration of beverage flavors as it melts, unlike ice made from tap or mineral water. The company harvests icebergs already detached from the glacier, claiming a minimal environmental impact. The ice is shipped, still frozen, to distribution partner Natural Ice in Dubai. The exact cost for bars or single servings remains unclear. Founded in 2022, Arctic Ice aims to boost Greenland’s economic independence, but critics question the environmental sustainability of shipping ice given the alarming rate of glacier melting in Greenland. Greenland’s glaciers are melting seven times faster than in the ’90s, with experts suggesting irreversible damage. The company has faced criticism similar to Martha Stewart, who used glacier ice to chill cocktails on a luxury cruise, drawing attention to the environmental impact.
