 Traditional Irish coffee | |
| Type | Mixed drink |
|---|---|
| Ingredients |
|
| Base spirit | Irish whiskey |
| Standard drinkware | Irish coffeemug |
| Served | Hot |
| Preparation | Pour the coffee into a preheated glass, add whiskey and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Pour cream slowly to form a distinct layer. |
Irish coffee (Irish:caife Gaelach) is acaffeinated alcoholic drink consisting ofIrish whiskey, hotcoffee andsugar, which has been stirred and topped withcream (sometimescream liqueur). The coffee is drunk through the cream.
Different variations of coffee cocktails pre-date the now-classic Irish coffee by at least 100 years.
In 19th-century France, a mixture of coffee and spirits was called agloria.
Several places claim to have developed the modern recipe in the 1950s. One version is attributed to a Joe Sheridan, headchef at the restaurant and coffee shop in theFoynes Airbase[1][2]flying boat terminal (about 15 kilometres or 9.3 miles from present-dayShannon Airport,County Clare).[3] In 1942 or 1943,[4][5] he addedwhiskey to the coffee of some disembarking passengers.[6][3][7]
Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for theSan Francisco Chronicle, maintains he brought Irish coffee to theUnited States after drinking it at Shannon Airport. His version is that he worked with theBuena Vista Cafe inSan Francisco to start serving it on November 10, 1952.[8][9][10] Sheridan later emigrated to work at the Buena Vista Cafe.[11]
Irish whiskey and at least one level teaspoon of sugar are poured over black coffee and stirred in until fully dissolved.[12] Thick cream is carefully poured over the back of a spoon initially held just above the surface of the coffee and gradually raised a little until the entire layer is floated.[13]
In 1988, theNational Standards Authority of Ireland published Irish Standard I.S. 417: Irish Coffee. The standard has been cancelled at least as of 2020.[a]
Althoughwhiskey,coffee andcream are the basic ingredients in all Irish coffee, there are variations in preparation: the choice of coffee and the methods used for brewing it differ significantly. The use ofespresso machines or fully automatic coffee brewers is now typical: the coffee is either acaffè americano (espresso diluted with hot water) or some kind of filter coffee, often made using acoffee capsule.
InSpain, Irish coffee (café irlandés) is sometimes served with a bottom layer of whiskey, a separate coffee layer, and a layer of cream on top;[15] special devices are sold for making it.
Some bars inSoutheast Asia serve a cocktail of iced coffee and whiskey, sometimes without cream, under the name "Irish coffee".
Many drinks of hot coffee with adistilled spirit, and cream floated on top—liqueur coffees—are given names derived from Irish coffee, although the names are not standardised. Irish cream coffee (also known asBaileys coffee) can be considered a variant of Irish coffee, but involves the use ofIrish cream as a "pre-mixed" substitute for the whisky, cream and sugar. Jamaican coffee would be expected to be made withrum; Highland coffee, also called Gaelic coffee, withScotch whisky; Russian coffee withvodka;[16] and Mexican coffee withtequila.
