How to Make Irish Coffee: A Step by Step Recipe (2024)

Irish coffee is a concoction co*cktail made with whiskey and coffee.

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History has it that Irish coffee originated on a dreary day in the winter of 1943.

Joe Sheridan, the head chef, and bartender at Foynes Port, Ireland wanted to prepare food, and a “pick me up” drink for stranded American ship passengers. So he added Irish whiskey into their coffee and topped it with whipped cream — a beverage intended to warm them up and to chase the blues away.

Joe indeed was able to beat the chilly blues, but all was forgotten when the passengers left, and that unique concoction went unnoticed until 1951 when Stanton Delaplane came to town. He was a well-known journalist from San Francisco who immediately fell in love with Irish coffee.

It became his mission to recreate this unique drink in his hometown. He brought back the recipe and gave it to his bartender, Jack Koeppler at Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco.

As they say, the rest is history.

Irish coffee gained popularity and became one of the most iconic coffee co*cktails in the world. It is made with four main ingredients, which are coffee, whiskey, sugar, and whipped cream.

There are many variations of Irish coffee, and here’s ours.

Irish Coffee Ingredients

• 5 ounces coffee: You can use any coffee brewing method you like, French press, Pour Over, drip coffee.
  Note: Espresso should be avoided because it overpowers the smoothness and delicacy of Irish whiskey.
• 2 ounces Irish whiskey: Any Irish whiskey will do the job, but I picked Jameson Irish whiskey for its incredibly smooth and mellow finish.
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 ounces heavy cream

How to Make Irish Coffee

1. Prepare your favorite coffee. I chose Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee using the Pour Over method. Set it aside when it’s done.

2. Prepare to whip the heavy cream.

Use a whisk to beat the cream back and forth for approximately 3-5 minutes, or until soft peaks begin to form. Remember, always use chilled heavy cream to start. Set it aside for later use.

3. Pour all the sugar in a glass/mug. Add whiskey.

4. Slightly warm the glass with a gas burner, or a tealight candle, and stirwell.

5. Pour coffee in and make sure to give it another good stir.

6. Use a spoon and slowly pour whipped cream in. Remember, you want the whipped cream to float on top instead of sink down. So, perform this step as gentle as you can. I used the back of a spoon to help pour the whipped cream. Take a look below.

Optional: Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

7. Enjoy your drink! Don’t stir the whipped cream into the coffee. The coffee is meant to be sipped through the cream.

Irish coffee is fragrant and leaves an elegant lingering aftertaste. It is such an exquisite co*cktail that requires some planning and lots of patience.

Whiskey and coffee are just the perfect match, a subtly flavored co*cktail.

Irish Coffee Recipe