Irish Coffee Recipe
Hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar under a layer of cream.
Irish Coffee is hot black coffee mixed with Irish whiskey and brown sugar and topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream. You drink the hot coffee through the cold cream. It is the best-known hot cocktail in the world.
Ingredients
- 40 ml Irish whiskey
- 120 ml Hot black coffee Freshly brewed and strong
- 2 tsp Brown sugar
- 30 ml Double cream Lightly whipped. Heavy cream in the US
Garnish: None, or grated nutmeg
How to Make an Irish Coffee
- Fill a heatproof stemmed glass with hot water to warm it, then empty it.
- Add the brown sugar and hot coffee and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved.
- Stir in the Irish whiskey.
- Whip the cream lightly until it thickens but still pours.
- Pour the cream slowly over the back of a warm spoon so that it floats on top.
- Do not stir. Drink the coffee through the cream.
Best Bottles for an Irish Coffee in India
Smooth blended Irish whiskey, the default choice
Scotch makes a Highland Coffee
Prices are the lowest listed India price and vary by state. Check each spirit page for the full state-wise table.
Tips for a Better Irish Coffee
- The sugar is not optional. It makes the coffee dense enough for the cream to float.
- Whip the cream only until it ribbons off a spoon. Stiff cream sits in lumps, and aerosol cream melts.
- Warm the glass first, or the drink will be lukewarm by the time you serve it.
About the Irish Coffee
Joe Sheridan, the chef at the flying-boat terminal at Foynes in County Limerick, Ireland, created it in the winter of 1943. A transatlantic flight had turned back in bad weather, and he added whiskey to the coffee to warm the cold, tired passengers. Asked whether it was Brazilian coffee, he is said to have answered that it was Irish coffee.
The drink moved with the airport to Shannon after the war. In 1952 the travel writer Stanton Delaplane brought the idea to the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, where the owner, Jack Koeppler, spent weeks working out how to make the cream float. The Buena Vista still serves around two thousand a day.
Irish Coffee is an IBA official cocktail and a winter and after-dinner standard across Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Ireland even has a national standard for it, I.S. 417, published in 1988.
Irish Coffee Variations
- Baileys Irish Coffee: 25ml of Irish cream liqueur in place of the sugar.
- Iced Irish Coffee: cold brew, whiskey and sugar syrup over ice with a cream float.
- Highland Coffee: Scotch whisky in place of Irish whiskey.
- French Coffee: cognac in place of whiskey.
- Espresso Martini: the cold, shaken coffee cocktail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in Irish Coffee?
How strong is Irish Coffee?
Why does the cream sink in my Irish Coffee?
What is the best whiskey for Irish Coffee?
Do you stir an Irish Coffee?
Who invented Irish Coffee?
About the Author
Quick Facts
More Cocktails
