Science takes center stage behind the bar at both Union Public House and Scott and Co., as their respective bartenders talk about the relationship between the ice and the spirit it’s intended to chill.

Union Public House, 4340 N. Campbell Ave. in St. Philip’s Plaza at the southeast corner of Campbell and River Road, has the hustle and bustle you’d expect from a player in the gastropub arena. But the unexpected happened when I overheard a customer order his Maker’s Mark bourbon “on the ball.”

What was delivered to him got my attention — a cocktail with a single, perfect spherical ball of ice at the bottom of the glass. Measuring 3 inches in diameter, about the size of a regulation baseball, the ice ball is the result of a 30-second molding process that introduces a small block of ice to gravity, variations in temperature, and a little physics thrown in for good measure.

Union’s manager Steve Stratigouleas explained the single ball is about keeping the cocktail at an optimum temperature and flavor with a sphere of ice that melts less quickly than cubes.

Tucked away in an intimate space at 49 N. Scott Ave. between Congress and Pennington streets, Scott and Co. is an integration of speakeasy and Old West apothecary. Bartender Karl Goranowski’s cocktail menu has selections divided into shaken and stirred.

The latter stirred my curiosity because all six selections required Goranowski to do something I hadn’t seen before. He uses a large wooden muddle to dramatically hand-crack cubes of ice into small shards before they’re added to the glass. As ice chips flew, Goranowski explained the smaller shards bring the temperature of the cocktail down faster than standard cubes, which is the intention for what he calls “spirit-forward” cocktails.

It’s just ice, right? That’s what I used to think. Try them both and let me know. Is it better on the ball or smacked and stirred?

Contact Matt Russell, whose day job is CEO of Russell Public Communications, at mrussell@russellpublic.com. Russell is also the host of “On the Menu Live” that airs 4-5 p.m. Saturdays on KNST 97.1-FM/790-AM.