Irish Coffee

Whether it is St. Patrick's Day or you just need a little something extra with your coffee, a classic Irish Coffee should hit the spot between a bit of a buzz and delicious coffee. My recipe gives a bit of history and lots of options to please most palates even if you aren't a whiskey fan. 

Ingredients

Traditionally speaking this drink does not have many ingredients: coffee, brown sugar, whipped cream, and whiskey.

However, I believe that a recipe is just a framework, so here are a few modifications you can make if one of the following is true for you:

• If you are vegan use Coconut Whipped Cream in place of cream.
• If you are low carb or keto, use Stevia or Swerve sweeteners in place of the brown sugar AND in the whipped cream. Heavy cream is clearly welcome here.
• If you don't like Whiskey, it won't technically be an Irish Coffee, but there is a list of substitutions below to help out below.

What is the History of Irish Coffee?

This isn't a particularly old cocktail. In fact, it originates in the 1940s at Foynes Airbase near Limerick, Ireland.

And in a rare moment in culinary history, we can attribute the creation of this drink to Joe Sheridan who knew passengers would be cold and tired. Thus hot coffee was paired with brown sugar, cream, and whiskey to create this recipe.

From there, one American brought the recipe back to the Buena Vista Hotel in San Fransisco. In the 1950s, Joe Sheridan was then hired to work at the Buena Vista Hotel where it was popularized. That same hotel now serves over 2,000 Irish coffees daily.

Is it whiskey or whisky?

Odds are you've seen it spelled both ways, which is confusing. Depending on who you ask they might tell you a different spelling. But in short, Irish and American spell it whiskey. While the Scots spell it whisky.

While there are differences in the distillation process, stills, peat, grains, and distilleries, each whiskey is nuanced and different from one another.

Variations

If you are mixing these basic ingredients together and you don't like whiskey, a common question is what else can I mix into this delicious coffee cocktail? Well, it might not be an Irish coffee, but it will still be delicious. Here are common variations of this recipe:

• Bailey's Coffee- skips the whiskey and uses Bailey's Irish Cream instead
• Jamaican Coffee-uses Rum
• Highland Coffee- Uses Scotch Whisky
• Mexican Coffee- Uses Kahlua or other coffee liqueur. Or coffee-flavored tequila.
• Frangelico Coffee- Uses Hazelnut Liqueur.
• Kentucky Coffee- Uses Bourbon (and yes, bourbon is technically a whiskey)
• Russian Coffee- Uses vodka

What about sweetening the coffee?

If you enjoy your coffee black, then there is no need to sweeten the coffee. Omit the sugar.

If you find black coffee undrinkable consider adding some simple syrup, sugar, or brown sugar to this before adding the whipped cream. Simple syrup will incorporate better into the drink. But if you like that final dose of sweetness, then opt for sugar.

Or you could add some Irish Cream to the coffee. The most enjoyable cocktail is the one that tastes best to you.

What type of coffee should I use?

The one you like most. I personally have a soft spot for Cold Brews, but if there is a coffee you personally enjoy, I'd use that. A recipe is always best when you love the individual ingredients in it.

Watch me make this (34 Seconds)

Tips for making this perfectly

• Use some hot water to heat up your glass before making this recipe, that way your glass is piping hot.
• I added a twist that was common in my family, feel free to omit, or use food coloring.
• Use the coffee you enjoy drinking
• Find whiskey you don't mind adding to this. Odds are if you like it in a whiskey sour or in another application, then you'll like it here.
• If you hate black coffee, there is nothing stopping you from adding cream or Irish cream to the coffee.

Directions

Step 1: Optional- Add hot water to a glass. Let it sit for about a minute. Discard hot water. You have now warmed your glass.

Step 2: Add sugar (if you are using), whiskey,  and coffee. Give it a quick stir.

Step 3: Add whipped cream. Optional, dash of green food coloring or creme de menthe (green) to this for a bit of coloring on the top. That's our family's twist on the recipe. Anything to squeeze in more green.

And a view from the top:

I hope you enjoy this Irish Coffee!

If you try this, would you mind hitting the “Rate” button? I’d love to know what you thought of it. If you modified the original recipe here, please let me know how it turned out. I love comments!

If you’ve tried this Irish Coffee or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest to see what I’m up to.

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