Hot coffee sweetened and laced with Irish whiskey, topped with a thick float of lightly whipped cream poured over the back of a spoon so it sits in a cool collar above the warm drink. Sipped through the cream, never stirred.
Attributed to chef Joe Sheridan at the Foynes flying-boat terminal in County Limerick in 1943, created to warm cold transatlantic passengers; later popularised in the US via San Francisco's Buena Vista Cafe.
The pleasure is in the contrast: hot, bittersweet whiskey-laced coffee drawn up through a cool, barely-sweet collar of cream. The whiskey warms the chest while the cream softens its edge, and the brown sugar ties it together. Best on a cold night, never stirred.
Whipping the cream just enough lowers its density so it floats on the denser, sugared coffee instead of sinking. Pouring it over a spoon spreads the flow gently to keep the layers separate, letting the hot drink come up through the cool cream.
Variations
Sweetened with demerara or simple syrup, made with cold brew, or topped with grated nutmeg
On the Palate
Where Irish Coffee sits in the Irish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
8 steps · 5 min active
- 11 min
Warm a stemmed glass by rinsing it with hot water, then empty it.
- 21 min
Add a spoonful or two of brown sugar to the glass.
- 31 min
Pour in a measure of Irish whiskey.
- 41 min
Top up with hot, freshly brewed strong coffee, leaving room at the top.
- 51 min
Stir until the sugar fully dissolves.
- 62 min
Lightly whip the cream so it just thickens but still pours.
- 71 min
Float the cream gently over the back of a warm spoon onto the coffee.
- 81 min
Serve at once, sipped through the cream layer without stirring.
