Irish Coffee
Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) Say EYE-rish KOF-ee
The classic hot coffee cocktail: strong brewed coffee, brown sugar and Irish whiskey in a warmed stemmed glass, crowned with a layer of cold, lightly whipped cream that floats on top. It was first served at the Foynes flying-boat terminal in 1943.
- ServedHot
- In EnglishCoffee with Irish whiskey and cream
- TastesCreamy, Rich, Sweet
About Irish Coffee
Irish coffee is hot, strong brewed coffee sweetened with sugar (usually brown) and laced with Irish whiskey, with a thick band of cold cream floating on top. It is traditionally served in a warmed, stemmed glass so you can see the layers: dark coffee below and ivory cream above. You don’t stir it. You sip the hot, sweet, boozy coffee through the cool cream, and the contrast is the whole point.
The secret is in the details. The sugar has to be dissolved in the coffee first, because the sweetness and density help the cream float. The cream should be only lightly whipped, thick enough to sit on top but still pourable, and it is usually unsweetened. Get it right and the drink tastes rich, warming and smooth, with the whiskey’s malt and spice coming through the coffee.
In Ireland it’s an after-dinner treat or something to warm you on a cold, wet day, served in pubs and hotels across the country. It was born at the Foynes flying-boat terminal on the Shannon Estuary. The Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum still celebrates it, and San Francisco’s Buena Vista Cafe made it world-famous.
In the cup
- Floating cream 25%
- Sweetened coffee with Irish whiskey 75%
Ingredients
- Hot, strong brewed coffee≈ 120–150 ml
- Irish whiskey≈ 35–45 ml (one measure)
- Brown sugar (or 2 sugar cubes)1–2 tsp
- Cold heavy (double) cream, lightly whipped≈ 30–40 ml
How to make it
You needStemmed heat-proof glass, kettle, coffee maker or French press, whisk or shaker for the cream, spoon
RatioRoughly 3 parts coffee : 1 part whiskey, with ≈ 2–3 cm of cream on top
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Fill the glass with hot water to warm it, then pour the water away.
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Add the sugar, pour in hot coffee to about three-quarters full and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
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Add the Irish whiskey and stir once more.
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Lightly whip or shake the cold cream until it just starts to thicken but is still pourable.
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Pour or spoon the cream gently over the back of a spoon so it floats in a layer on top. Serve straight away, without stirring.
Origin & history
The usual story begins at Foynes, County Limerick, the Shannon Estuary terminal for transatlantic flying boats in the 1940s. According to the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum, in the winter of 1943 a flight bound for New York turned back in bad weather. Chef Joe Sheridan, recruited to the terminal restaurant by Brendan O’Regan, added Irish whiskey to coffee to warm the cold, stranded passengers. When one asked whether it was Brazilian coffee, Sheridan is said to have replied that it was “Irish coffee”. After the war the airport moved across the estuary to Shannon, and the drink went with it.
In 1952 Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, tasted it at Shannon. He then worked with Jack Koeppler, owner of the Buena Vista Cafe near Fisherman’s Wharf, to recreate it. Getting the cream to float was the hard part. Koeppler even travelled to Shannon to study the original, and the cream was eventually solved by using cream aged a little and lightly frothed. The Buena Vista dates its first Irish coffee to 10 November 1952. It is said to serve around 2,000 a day, and Joe Sheridan himself later moved to San Francisco.
As with many drinks, the origin story isn’t entirely tidy. Writers have pointed to similar whiskey-and-coffee drinks in Dublin before 1943, and an Irish coffee recipe appeared in the New York Herald Tribune in 1948, years before the Buena Vista made it famous. But Foynes is usually credited with the drink as we know it, and the Buena Vista with making it a worldwide classic.
Variations
- Buena Vista Irish coffeetwo sugar cubes, coffee, Irish whiskey and lightly aged, frothed cream (San Francisco, USA)
- Baileys coffeeIrish cream liqueur instead of whiskey and sugar (Ireland / worldwide)
- Gaelic coffeemade with Scotch whisky (Scotland)
- Carajillocoffee with brandy or Licor 43, no cream (Spain / Mexico)
- Pharisäercoffee with rum under whipped cream (northern Germany)
Good to know
Don't stir. Sip the hot coffee through the cold cream.
Warm the glass with hot water first so the drink stays hot.
Dissolve the sugar completely before adding the cream. The sugar helps the cream float.
Whip the cream only lightly, until it just thickens, and pour it slowly over the back of a spoon.
It contains a full measure of spirits, so drink responsibly and don't drive.
