How to Keep Drinks Cold Without a Fridge

Fridges fill up fast at parties, barbecues and events. The good news is you don't need one: ice and a few simple tricks keep drinks colder than most fridges.

1. Use ice and water

A tub of ice on its own only touches each can at a few points. Add cold water so the drinks are surrounded by ice-cold water and they chill far faster, in around 10–15 minutes instead of an hour or more.

2. Add salt for an extra-fast chill

A couple of handfuls of salt in the ice water lowers its temperature below 0°C, so cans and bottles cool even quicker. Stir it in and rinse the drinks if they will be poured straight into glasses.

3. Use the right container

• Cool boxes – keep ice longest; open them as little as possible.
• Plastic tubs, buckets and wheelbarrows – great for serving at parties; keep them in the shade.
• A bath or paddling pool – for big parties, lined with bags of ice and water.

4. Keep it in the shade and covered

Direct sun is the fastest way to melt ice. Put tubs in the shade and cover them with a towel or lid between uses.

5. Pre-chill what you can

Drinks that go into the ice already cool use far less ice. Chill the first round in the fridge and keep the rest in ice.

How much ice do you need?

Allow roughly 1 kg of ice per guest for an evening of drinks, plus extra for ice tubs on hot days. So a 30-person party needs around 3 bags of ice for drinks, and more to fill tubs. See how much ice do I need for a party and how long ice lasts in a cooler.

Need a lot of ice? Get it delivered

• £10 per 12 kg bag: cube ice, crushed ice or 6 × 2 kg bags.
• Free delivery across London from 5 bags.
• Order by 5pm for next-day delivery, Monday to Saturday, in a morning or afternoon slot.
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Frequently asked questions

How do you keep drinks cold without a fridge? Put them in a tub or cool box with ice and cold water, add salt for faster chilling, and keep it in the shade with a cover.

Does salt make ice colder? Salt lowers the temperature of ice water below 0°C, so drinks chill faster.

How long does it take to chill drinks in ice water? Usually around 10 to 15 minutes for cans in ice water, much faster than ice alone.

How much ice do I need to keep drinks cold at a party? About 1 kg per guest for drinks, plus extra for tubs and hot weather.