If you lived in the 1800’s, there was no way to order a drink “on the rocks”. Maybe during the winter, but then you probably yearned for something warmer. Simply, there was no way to effectively manufacture ice. This made it also very difficult to store food for long periods of time over the summer.
There was one man, Frederick Tudor, who saw an opportunity.
In the Caribbean, not only didn’t they have any ice, ever; but ships were leaving the northern United States empty, to collect cargo. In addition to this, the ice was free.
During decades, Tudor harvested ice from the cold winter in the northeast, and sold it in the islands.
As with most innovations, he started with a crazy idea, and figured out each step. At one point, he even concentrated in the trading of the ice, outsourcing the cutting of the ice to other people.
Now that’s cool!