How to keep drinks cold without a fridge

Ice and salt water: the fastest method

Fill a bucket, tub or cool box with ice, then add cold water so the cans or bottles are surrounded. Water touches every part of the container and carries heat away much faster than ice alone. A handful of salt lowers the water's temperature further.

Cans chill in roughly 10 to 20 minutes this way and bottles a little longer. Keep topping up the ice as it melts, and keep the container in the shade. See how long it takes to chill wine and beer for comparisons.

1. 1

   Half fill a container with ice.

2. 2

   Add drinks.

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   Pour in cold water to cover most of each can or bottle.

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   Stir in a handful of salt.

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   Keep in the shade and top up ice as needed.

Cool boxes and ice packs

A good cool box with frozen ice packs keeps pre-chilled drinks cold for many hours. Fill gaps with more packs or ice so there is little air inside, and open the lid as little as possible. Keep drinks in a separate box from food if you are opening it often.

Chill drinks before packing if you can. A cool box is better at keeping drinks cold than at making warm ones cold.

Evaporation: the wet cloth trick

Wrap a bottle or can in a wet cloth or tea towel and leave it in a breezy, shaded spot. As water evaporates it takes heat with it, cooling the drink below air temperature. It works best on dry, windy days and less well in humid weather.

Terracotta wine coolers work on the same idea: soak the pot in water, then stand the bottle inside.

Natural cool spots

A stream, a shaded pond or a bucket of cold tap water in the shade all keep drinks cooler than the air. Indoors, a cellar, a north-facing larder or a cool garage floor is cooler than a kitchen in summer. Keep drinks out of direct sun, which warms them quickly.

For wine, a cool dark place is fine for short storage, but long-term storage needs a steady temperature; see is a wine fridge worth it.

Do you have to refrigerate beer?

Unopened cans and bottles of most commercial beer do not need to be refrigerated to be safe. Keeping them cold does slow the loss of fresh flavour, especially in hoppy styles, and avoids warm spells that can affect taste. Keep beer out of light and heat either way. See how long beer lasts in the fridge.

Once opened, beer goes flat and loses aroma quickly, so drink it the same day.

Tips for parties and barbecues

Plan ahead for a big event. Chill as many drinks as you can the night before, in the kitchen fridge or a neighbour's, then move them into ice and water when guests arrive. Use two containers: one for drinks being served and one for back-up stock, so the serving tub is not constantly refilled with warm cans.

Buy more ice than you think you need, as it melts fast on a warm UK summer day, and keep bags of spare ice in a cool box until needed. Put the drinks station in shade, away from the barbecue, and empty meltwater now and then so the ice keeps doing its job. Keep wine bottles in the same ice water, with whites and sparkling deeper in than reds.

When a drinks fridge makes sense

If you regularly entertain, have a garden room or home bar, or your kitchen fridge is always full, a glass-door drinks fridge saves the ice runs. Under-counter models fit kitchens and bars; table-top ones suit studies and small spaces. Check the climate class if it will go in an outbuilding; see can you put a drinks fridge outside.

Our beer and drinks fridge guide compares models by capacity and lowest temperature.

See drinks fridges for home and garden →

Frequently asked questions

What is the quickest way to cool a can without a fridge? Ice and cold water with salt, stirring now and then.

Does wrapping a bottle in a wet towel really work? Yes, through evaporation, best in dry breezy shade.

How long do drinks stay cold in a cool box? Several hours with ice packs, longer if pre-chilled and the lid stays shut.

Can I store wine without a fridge? Short term in a cool dark place, yes. For months, a steady temperature is better.