I finally sampled one of Bolsa‘s red raspberry sangrias this week, and quickly realized the fruit juice and wine aren’t the only elements that make the drink — it’s also the crushed ice.

Ice is important (as anyone who chooses to make the drive to Sonic rather than to the nearby convenience store would attest), and Bolsa’s ice is just like Sonic’s ice. When asked if the restaurant buys their ice from Sonic, however, Bolsa co-founder Christopher Jeffers quickly squelched the idea. The restaurant uses so much ice, he says, that it bought a 750-pound custom ice machine to keep the drinks on the rocks. Also, the ice is perfect for packing fish and meat, Jeffers says.

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By the way, if you Google "Sonic ice", you’ll quickly find the ice machine website featuring the "Scotsman MDT2C12", which creates what is known as "cubelet ice, ‘Sonic™ Ice’, ‘the rabbit turd’ ice or nugget ice" which "can enhance your drinking experience by melting more slowly and is easy to chew once your drink is consumed." Maybe this is the machine that Bolsa acquired?