Irish coffee

Ingredients

Drink

• 40 mlIrish whiskey
• 120 mlhot strong black coffee
• 2 tspbrown sugar

Cream

• 50 mldouble cream, lightly whipped

Directions

1. Whip the cream only until it thickens slightly and will still just pour, stopping well before it holds a peak. It has to float as a layer and still be liquid enough to drink through; whipped stiff it sits on top like a lid and you end up eating it with a spoon.
2. Warm a stemmed glass with hot water and pour it out.
3. Put the sugar in and pour in the hot coffee, stirring until it has completely dissolved. The sugar must fully dissolve before the cream goes on.
4. Add the whiskey and stir once.
5. Pour it slowly and over the spoon, which breaks the fall and spreads it across the surface.
6. Leave it unstirred, in two distinct layers. Do not stir it once the cream is on, and do not serve it with a straw.
7. Serve it immediately, in the glass, with no garnish at all.

Technique

• Brown sugar rather than white, both for the flavour and because it makes a denser syrup for the cream to sit on.
• The coffee has to be strong and genuinely hot, not merely warm.
• Cream straight from the carton sinks; the light whipping is what lets it float.

Substitutions

• Demerara sugar or a rich sugar syrup.
• Cream shaken briefly in a sealed jar if you have no whisk.

Variations

• With a grating of nutmeg over the cream, which some bars add.
• The Buena Vista method, which specifies two sugar cubes and its own glass.
• With Baileys in place of some of the cream, which is popular and not the original.

History

Created by chef Joe Sheridan at the Foynes flying-boat terminal in County Limerick in 1943 and taken to San Francisco’s Buena Vista in 1952.

Frequently asked questions

What is Irish coffee?

Irish coffee is a cocktail from Ireland: hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, floated cream. Created by chef Joe Sheridan at the Foynes flying-boat terminal in County Limerick in 1943 and taken to San Francisco’s Buena Vista in 1952.

How long does Irish coffee take to make?

Irish coffee takes 5 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Irish coffee?

Yes, within limits. Demerara sugar or a rich sugar syrup. Cream shaken briefly in a sealed jar if you have no whisk.

What is the most important thing to get right in Irish coffee?

Put the sugar in and pour in the hot coffee, stirring until it has completely dissolved. The sugar must fully dissolve before the cream goes on.