Alright, I know this post is overdue, but I figured I would cover it before it gets too far off the date.

The Irish coffee is a cocktail that many know of, and enjoy. It is the classic that keeps on giving. Whenever we are looking for a bit of extra character to be added to our coffee at the end of the meal, we turn to the IRISH COFFEE.

RECIPE

Now, what is the Irish coffee?

Here is the best recipe I have followed for some time now:

1.5 ounce Irish whiskey (Tullamore Dew,Jameson, Bushmills, etc.)

0.5 ounce demerara rich syrup (2:1 sugar to water, it lends itself better for the consistency)

4-5 ounce hot coffee

Heavy Whipping cream/canned whipped cream

PROCESS

Here is the process: in a heat-proof mug, mix the Irish whiskey and syrup. Then add the coffee. For the cream preparation, there are a few different methods. My favorite by far is when heavy cream is put into a shaker with equal part simple syrup (approximately). This combination will add extra viscosity to the cream and give it boosted flavor. Shake vigorously to incorporate. The trick after, is the layering of the cream on top of the drink.

KEY POINT: the cream must be relatively colder than the coffee for this to work properly

Use the back of a bar spoon to gently pour on top of the cocktail. If the cream is not viscous enough and still has a liquid feel to it, add more sugar/syrup. By using the spoon, we do not allow the cream to drop so fast and hard onto the drink, thus emulsifying with the rest of the cocktail. The more gently we drop onto the drink, the less cream goes into the drink. This is purely for aesthetics and presentation… because most patrons start drinking it all mixed up anyway!

Now that we know how to make an Irish coffee, where does it come from? What is its story?

HISTORY

The Irish coffee is of Irish descent (you might say “duh!”). Although this may be true, the cocktail originated more from American tourists desire for drink, rather than an Irish tradition of mixing coffee and whiskey!

Joe Sheridan was working at the Foynes airport in Western Ireland. One day, he needed to find a way to please and cheer up some American tourists that were delayed from their flights back home due to weather conditions.

After the Americans tasted the drink, they went from annoyed to pleased! The drink stuck with the tourists and they brought the idea back home. But it didn’t STICK into culture over here in the US quite yet. It would be another decade or so.

Journalist Stan Delaplane travelled, intrigued, to Foynes airport to taste one of these famous concoctions. He loved it and told his friends how amazing it was. One person in particular to hear from Stan was close friend Jack Koeppler, who is the owner of the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco. This is what really brought the cocktail to stardom.

Its even more, Koeppler saw that the recipe was not exactly the one that “did it” for the crowd. So, what was the solution? Koeppler called Joe Sheridan and offered him a job at Buena Vista Café in 1952. He accepted the job and moved to San Francisco from his native Ireland. The rest is a beautiful piece of history.

A cocktail as simple at this, truly has a place in all of our hearts because it is one of those drinks that reaches us even coincidentally. Well, enjoy your Irish coffee(s) wherever you are, and happy (belated) St. Patricks Day!!

Sláinte / Salúd / Cheers !