Irish coffee – a warming cocktail with whiskey

Irish coffee (Irish coffee) is strong black coffee with sugar, generously flavored with Irish whiskey and topped with a layer of snow-white, lightly whipped cream. The drink is so popular that its classic recipe is registered by the International Bartenders Association (IBA).

Irish differs from numerous coffee cocktails in that:

• Irish whiskey is definitely added to it. Coffee drinks with other types of alcohol Irish coffee do not count;
• Irish coffee cream does not whip into a stiff foam. They should be whipped, but liquid, and lay on top of the coffee in an even layer.

History of Irish coffee

Until the end of World War II, flying from Europe to the United States was the lot of brave people. They had to spend about 18 hours in the air, in the unpressurized and unheated cabin of the seaplane. Far from poor passengers had to travel this way: politicians, businessmen, famous writers and journalists.

Planes from England landed at Shannon Airport in Ireland, and from there passengers were transported to the port town of Foynes, where the terminal for seaplanes crossing the Atlantic Ocean was located. Knowing that important people could linger for a long time in Shannon and Foynes due to bad weather, the administration invited the famous Dublin chef Joseph Sheridan to work at the airport restaurant.

Recipe by Joe Sheridan

One stormy evening in 1943, Mr Sheridan was urgently called to Foynes. Due to bad weather, the plane en route to the United States was forced to turn back. The passengers, who had been freezing in the air for several hours in vain, urgently needed to be warmed up.

In Ireland, in the chilly weather, from time immemorial, they saved themselves with tea and whiskey. But the unlucky travelers clearly needed a more invigorating drink than tea. The chef offered them hot coffee with Irish whiskey, topped with hastily whipped cream. One of the passengers, having tried the drink and literally coming to life before our eyes, asked: “Is this Brazilian coffee?”, to which he received the answer: “No, Irish.”

Since then, Irish coffee has been regularly served in restaurants in Shannon and Foynes Terminal. The drink would have remained unknown to the general public if San Francisco Chronicle journalist Stanton Delaplane had not tasted it in 1951. Returning home, he shared his impressions of unusual coffee with his friend Jack Keppler, owner of the Buena Vista bar.

Irish coffee in a traditional glass

Keppler got the idea to include Irish coffee in the menu of his establishment. But preparing the drink turned out to be not so easy: the cream either sank to the bottom like a stone, or froze on the surface in a cap that could be eaten with a spoon, but not drunk. Finally, a balance was found: lightly whipped farm cream, previously kept in the cold for 48 hours, was ideal for preparing proper Irish coffee.

Irish coffee created a sensation in San Francisco, and soon Keppler's bar became the most visited in the city. And in 1952, Joseph Sheridan, who moved to the United States, got a job at Buena Vista.

The Buena Vista bar is still thriving. At least 2,000 servings of Irish coffee are sold here per day. The record was set in the 80s of the last century, when visitors drank 6,000 servings of Irish coffee during a sports competition.

The terminal at Foynes was closed in 1945. But every year, on July 19, the town hosts Irish Coffee Day, and baristas from all over the world come to a tournament to prepare the legendary drink.

Marilyn Monroe's first encounter with Irish coffee

Selecting ingredients for Irish coffee

The basis of the cocktail is strong black coffee. The brewing method does not matter: it can be a double espresso or a drink brewed in a Turk, French press, or pour over. True, many coffee lovers note that the most delicious Irish coffee is obtained with a base prepared in a French press.

Irish coffee requires 100% Arabica. The drink is especially good if the blend contains Indian Arabica Plantation A or another variety of beans with a chocolate flavor. The bitter tastes of whiskey and robusta do not mix well with each other.

A medium roast (Viennese or slightly lighter) is preferable. The grinding of beans depends on the method of preparing the coffee base.

To brew coffee, you need bottled water with a mineralization of 75–250 mg/l. Only Irish whiskey is suitable, for example, Jameson, Bushmills, Finnegan, Connemara, St. Patrick.

Cream

Experts recommend preparing Irish coffee with cream of 20–30% fat content, but 10% fat content is also acceptable.

Sometimes Irish coffee is depicted with a high head of cream. This is wrong: you should drink a cocktail without stirring first, without using a straw or a spoon. If you try to drink coffee that is decorated with thick creamy foam, your nose will definitely end up smeared with cream, which looks extremely unaesthetic. In addition, there is a high probability of dousing yourself with hot coffee: it is difficult for liquid to penetrate through the thick layer of creamy foam, which is why you will have to tilt the glass more than necessary.

If you add unwhipped cream to coffee, it will sink to the bottom and, under the influence of alcohol, can curdle, forming unsightly lumps.

For Irish coffee, you need to whip the cream until a homogeneous, plastic foam forms. They are poured into a glass rather than spooned. At home, in order to get such foam, the cream is whipped not with a blender, but by hand, with a whisk.

Properly whipped cream is the basis of the recipe

The creamy foam should be cold. Therefore, some recipes recommend whipping cream with crushed ice in a shaker. It should be remembered that the combination of ice cream with hot coffee is dangerous for tooth enamel.

Sugar

Original Irish coffee is prepared with cane sugar solely because its grains dissolve faster in alcohol. If there is no cane sugar, it is permissible to use beet sugar (in extreme cases, even refined sugar), but you need to make sure that it is completely dissolved.

The Right Ingredients

Coffee

To prepare Irish coffee, you need medium-roasted Arabica beans (Viennese or slightly lighter), preferably with chocolate notes, for example, the Indian variety Plantation A. Blends with Robusta in the composition are too bitter.

The method of brewing coffee is not of fundamental importance; double espresso brewed in a cezve (Turk), French press or pour over is suitable, as long as it is not instant. The best option is a French press. The degree of grinding depends on the preparation method.

Whiskey

You can use any brand of Irish whiskey without peat or smoky notes: Jameson, Bushmills, Connemara, Finnegan, St. Patrick and others. Aging is not of fundamental importance, since these subtle shades are lost when mixed with coffee and cream.

It is advisable to add warm whiskey (preheat in a water bath) or at room temperature, then the ingredients mix better and the cocktail stays hot longer.

Cream

The most problematic ingredient causing controversy. You need fresh cream with a fat content of 20-30%, you can take 10%, but the taste of the cocktail will not be as rich. Unwhipped cream sinks to the bottom and, under the influence of whiskey, coagulates into lumps. But cream from a can is also far from the best option.

Sometimes in photographs Irish coffee is depicted with a high head of cream. This does not correspond to the classic version, since it is customary to drink the cocktail immediately after preparation without stirring with a spoon or straw. If the creamy foam is too high, it is very difficult to drink Irish coffee without getting dirty. That's why experienced bartenders refuse cream from a can, preferring regular liquid ones.

Cream for Irish coffee is whipped cold (+3-5 °C) until a homogeneous plastic foam appears, then poured into a glass in a thin stream rather than spooned. At home, to beat to the desired consistency, instead of a blender, it is better to use a regular kitchen whisk.

Bartenders whip cream in a shaker filled with ice. The disadvantage of this method is that the cream is slightly diluted with water, so the higher the fat content, the better. We don’t even recommend trying with 10%.

Sugar

Cane sugar dissolves faster in whiskey and is the preferred option. Beetroot and even refined sugar are suitable for replacement, but during the cooking process you need to ensure that the sugar is completely dissolved.

Wineglass

Irish coffee is served in a special glass goblet with a handle, created specifically for this cocktail.

Special glass

Characteristics of Irish coffee

Making Irish coffee

The combination of the velvety blackness of coffee and the boiling whiteness of cream looks very impressive. Irish coffee should be served in a thick-walled glass goblet with a handle. Before preparing the drink, pour hot water into the glass or heat it with steam from a coffee machine.

It is advisable that the whiskey be warm (a prerequisite for preparing fiery Irish coffee). To heat the whiskey, place it in hot water for 5–10 minutes (a glass vessel cannot be placed in boiling water).

Ingredients:

• 80 ml hot black coffee;
• 40 ml Irish whiskey;
• 30 ml whipped cream;
• 1 tsp. cane sugar.

Classic Irish coffee recipe

1. Whip the cream.
2. Brew black coffee and pour into a warm glass.
3. Dissolve sugar in coffee.
4. Add warm whiskey and stir.
5. Pour whipped cream on top - in a thin stream, along the blade of a knife or over an inverted spoon, so that it lays in an even layer.

Proper addition of cream

Cocktails from the Irish, how to drink them correctly

Cocktails were prepared. But you need to learn how to drink them correctly.

• One of the rules is that the layers should not be mixed. You need to pull the coffee through the cream. But without using straws or straws.
• The taste of Irish cocktails is never interrupted by anything. They do not eat baked goods or sweets with them. The taste sensations should remain only from the absolute masterpiece - the cocktail.
• You can try drinking it in a non-classical way, with the addition of ice. Pour whiskey into glasses, add sugar, put ice cubes and a cream cap on top.

In these simple ways you can get original, refreshing and invigorating drinks.

Other types of Irish coffee

Fiery Irish coffee

The composition and proportions are the same as in the previous case. This coffee has a more delicate taste with a light caramel note.

Recipe:

1. Whip the cream.
2. Brew black coffee.
3. In a heated glass, mix warm whiskey with sugar (stir with a spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved).
4. Scoop up some whiskey with a spoon, set it on fire, pour it into the glass so that the drink catches fire.
5. Pour coffee and cover the glass with a lid or saucer.
6. After 30–40 seconds, pour the cream in a thin stream.

Fiery Irish coffee

Coffee Irish cream

This drink is considered a ladies' drink, although gourmets and sweet tooths of both sexes love it.

Ingredients:

• 100 ml hot black coffee;
• 50 ml cream liqueur (Baileys or Carolans Irish Cream);
• 40 ml whipped cream;
• optional – 1 tsp. cane sugar;
• optional - grated chocolate.

Recipe:

1. Pour black coffee into a glass.
2. If you want to make the drink sweeter, mix coffee with sugar.
3. Add cream liqueur.
4. Pour in the cream in a thin stream.
5. Decorate the creamy foam with grated chocolate.

Irish cream

Irish ice coffee

The ingredients are the same as in the classic version.

Recipe:

1. Brew black coffee, mix with sugar and cool to room temperature.
2. Throw 2-3 ice cubes into a glass.
3. Pour in coffee and whiskey (do not heat).
4. Pour whipped cream on top.

Irish ice

Irish cream coffee

Over time, deviations from the canonical recipe appeared. One of the most famous variations is Irish cream coffee. It replaces whiskey with Baileys soft creamy liqueur.

The proportions remain the same as for the classic Irish, but the volume is made a little larger.

• Baileys liqueur – 75 ml.
• Coffee – 150 ml.
• Sugar – 1 teaspoon.
• Whipped cream - 2 tablespoons.

How is Irish cream coffee made?

• Strong coffee is poured into a glass.
• Add a spoonful of brown sugar or regular white sugar, previously caramelized to a light brown color.
• Liquor is poured in.
• Decorate with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

Drink Irish Cream without stirring.