How to Chill a Drink Quickly

Chilling with Salted Ice Water

Fill a thick glass bowl with water and ice. The thicker and more insulated the bowl, the better. It should be able to trap the cold water and ice mixture. Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb. If you just need to chill one or a few drinks, this is fine. If you have to chill many drinks, you're better off using a cooler or even your bathtub.

Add a pinch of salt to the water. A small handful should do. The salt will disassociate into its constituent sodium and chloride ions. The water molecules, being polar, will orient themselves accordingly. This is work, and work requires energy which comes from thermal energy in the water, thus reducing the ambient temperature further.

Put your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them. Stirring the drinks will help the heat transfer out of your drink and into the ice solution more quickly.

Wait about two minutes. The temperature should have fallen dramatically in a very short time. If it needs more time chilling, stir the remaining drinks in the salted ice water for another minute or two.

Pour your cold drink into a glass. It should now be about the perfect temperature to quench your thirst -- and the thirst of your guests. Just be careful: if you put in a carbonated drink like a soda, give it some time to settle before you pour it.

Chilling with a Wet Paper Towel

Wet a paper towel that's large enough to fit around your entire drink. If your drink is small, you may only need to use half a paper towel; if your drink is larger, a full one or even two.

Wrap the wet paper towel completely around the drink. Try to make sure the paper towel stays wrapped around the drink.

Place the wrapped drink in the freezer and wait approximately 15 minutes.

Remove the drink from the freezer and enjoy your ice-cold beverage. The paper towel will be partially frozen; keep it on your beverage if you want it to continue cooling down the drink. If you are using the drink in presentation, remove the wet paper towel before serving.