The true recipe for Irish coffee
It's the quintessential Irish drink (alongside Guinness, naturally)... the Irish Coffee. This ultra-convivial and comforting cocktail offers a fabulous blend of sensations: bold, powerful notes from the coffee and whiskey paired with sweet and delicate flavours from the sugar and cream.
It's the quintessential Irish drink (alongside Guinness, naturally)... the Irish Coffee. This ultra-convivial and comforting cocktail offers a fabulous blend of sensations: bold, powerful notes from the coffee and whiskey paired with sweet and delicate flavours from the sugar and cream. We share the authentic Irish Coffee recipe along with all our tips for enjoying it according to Irish tradition!
The original Irish coffee recipe
Ingredients:
50 ml of Irish whiskey (see further in the article to know which whisky brand to choose)
black coffee
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
60 ml of liquid cream
hot water
Preparation:
Step 1: Heat water in a kettle.
Step 2: Pour the boiling water into the glass. This step is intended to heat the glass and keep it nice and hot during serving.
Step 3: Meanwhile, prepare the coffee (more or less strong according to your taste).
Step 4: In a saucepan, gently heat the whiskey over low heat while adding the sugar. Be careful—the whiskey must not boil.
Step 5: Empty the glass filled with hot water and pour the mixture into it. Stir with a spoon.
Step 6: Add the coffee and stir.
Step 7: In a bowl, pour the liquid cream and whip it. The cream should thicken but remain light.
Step 8: Gently place the whipped cream on the surface of the cocktail, using the back of the spoon to prevent the different layers from mixing.
To finish, you can dust cocoa powder (or other spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon) on the foam to enhance the cocktail.
Enjoy!
Box: different variations of Irish Coffee
There are many variations of Irish Coffee depending on the region of Irlande. It all depends on the type of whisky used. Some even replace it with Baileys Irish Cream, an Irish whiskey cream, which is equally unmissable! For those with a sweet tooth, know that it's also possible to replace the liquid cream with whipped cream.
How to drink an Irish coffee the proper way?
Which whisky should you choose to make an Irish coffee?
To make an Irish coffee according to Irish tradition, you must absolutely use Irish whiskey! Among the Irish whisky brands you can choose from, we can mention:
Black Bush,
Paddy...
In which glass should you serve an Irish coffee?
That's THE question everyone asks! Forget cups or whisky glasses—Irish coffee should be enjoyed in a proper glass. Indeed, the glass must be large enough to allow for full aromatic expression and for the cocktail to breathe.
In Irlande, you'll mainly find two types of glass in most traditional irish pubs. These are glasses specially designed to serve an Irish coffee: stemmed glasses with a wide mouth (to circulate the aromas) or glasses with a handle, shaped like mugs.
When do Irish people drink an Irish coffee?
In Irlande, Irish coffee is served as a digestif. In most Irish pubs, it's served to conclude the meal on a high note with something sweet.
Frequently asked questions
Irish coffee is a hot cocktail that combines black coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar, and whipped cream. It's a codified recipe with precise proportions, different from simply adding whisky to coffee because the cream is whipped and gently placed on the surface to create distinct layers.
Technically, you can use another whisky (Scottish or bourbon), but the traditional Irish recipe absolutely requires Irish whiskey such as Jameson, Bushmills, or Tullamore Dew. For an alcohol-free version, you can replace the whiskey with a caramel or vanilla-flavored syrup.
According to Irish tradition, Irish coffee is enjoyed without mixing the cream with the rest of the cocktail. The cream placed on the surface should remain intact: this is how the aromas of hot coffee and whiskey pass through the layer of fresh cream, offering a unique contrast of temperatures and flavours.
For a traditional Irish coffee, Jameson is the most widely used brand in the world due to its smooth and balanced character. Other excellent options include Bushmills Original, Tullamore Dew, or Teeling, all Irish whiskies that pair perfectly with coffee and cream.
Irish coffee was invented in 1943 at Shannon Airport in Irlande by chef Joe Sheridan. He is said to have created it to warm up American passengers whose flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. The drink was later popularized in the United States via the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco.
