Collections
Tabletop
- Shop All Tabletop
Dinnerware
Drinkware & Glassware
Flatware & Silverware
- Sale
What's New
My Club
Bathroom
ProfessionalsShowrooms & Dealers
Irish Coffee
On a cold fall afternoon, there’s nothing better than enjoying an Irish coffee topped with cream. The coffee specialty with the subtle sweetness and a shot of Irish whiskey has a very unique character. It warms you up wonderfully and spreads a special feeling of coziness. Read the best tips here about the delicious hot beverage from the Emerald Isle.
Recipe
How do you make an Irish coffee?
With a good recipe, it's easy to serve a wonderfully aromatic Irish coffee at home. All you need is a few ingredients for the hot beverage:
Ground coffee
Whiskey
Sugar
Cream
A normal coffee maker works for the preparation. According to the traditional Irish recipe, follow the four steps below:
Step 1:
Warm the coffee glass by rinsing it out with boiling water so that the Irish coffee maintains its temperature for a long time.
Step 2:
Add a teaspoon of brown sugar and about 40 mm of whiskey into the pre-heated glass. Stir to blend well. Alternatively, the whiskey/sugar mixture can be prepared on the stove. Important: The sugar should dissolve with the heat, but the whiskey should not boil. The alcohol gives the Irish coffee its special taste; it would evaporate if it were to boil.
Step 3:
The glass is filled with strong filtered coffee leaving about one centimeter of space to the rim. If you do not have an Irish coffee glass, simply add 250 mm of coffee to any glass. Stir to blend well again.
Step 4:
Beat 50 mm of unsweetened cream until it is semi-stiff. Traditionally, the cream slides off the back of a spoon onto the coffee so that it floats on the hot beverage. Important: The Irish coffee is no longer stirred once the cream cap has been added.
Which type of whiskey should you use in an Irish coffee?
The right whiskey is the heart of a good Irish coffee. It is best to choose an authentic Irish whiskey. Compared to Scottish whiskey, it is much smoother and less smoky or malty in taste. The reason for this is the production process: Irish whiskeys are triple distilled, but Scottish whiskeys are only distilled twice. In Scotland, the whiskey is made with barley dried over a peat fire and with malted barley. This is unusual in Ireland. This particular mildness of Irish whiskey results in the uniquely balanced and round flavor of the Irish coffee. Whiskey varieties that are traditionally used for the Irish coffee are, for example, Clontarf Single Malt or Tullamore Dew. Jameson is also considered a typical Irish coffee whiskey.
How do you drink an Irish coffee?
To enjoy an Irish coffee in style, the right drinking glass is very important first off. A typical Irish coffee cup is made of glass. This means you can see the warm interplay of colors from the coffee, whiskey and cap of cream. An elongated glass with a handle or a latte macchiato glass, such as the NewWave latte macchiato glass from Villeroy & Boch, are ideal for an Irish coffee.
Information
There are three different ways to enjoy an Irish coffee. The interplay between the coffee/whiskey blend and the cream is important.
Creative recipes for Irish coffee
The Irish coffee has been repeatedly re-invented through its history. It is wonderfully suited for developing new recipes.
Try it once - here are some tips and suggestions:
- Experiment with different types of whiskey and also try it once with a stronger Scottish whiskey.
- Adorn the cream cap with some caramel sauce, chocolate sprinkles, chopped nuts or a cookie.
- To sweeten it, use different types of syrup to give the Irish coffee a new freshness.
- For a “bumblebee” Irish coffee, alternate layering Irish coffee with egg liqueur in a glass.
- Try the Irish coffee in a spicy version with fresh nutmeg or cardamom on the cream cap.
- Enjoy the Irish coffee in the summer iced. Use a dollop of vanilla ice cream instead of cream.
Where does the drink come from?
The Irish coffee is a wonderful specialty for warming up on a cold day. The infamous Irish weather played a key role in its creation. The hot beverage traces back to an Irish chef: Sheridan managed an airport restaurant in the town of Foynes in the 1940s. On a cold winter’s night, an airplane on its way to New York had to turn back due to bad weather.
The staff at the airport restaurant who had already gone home returned to serve drinks and food to the passengers. Joe Sheridan added a healthy shot of whiskey to the coffees so that his late-night guests could warm up properly. His spontaneous creation was well received. When one guest asked whether Joe had used Brazilian coffee for the recipe, Joe replied succinctly: “No, it was Irish coffee!”
From then on, the coffee specialty had a name. Joe refined his recipe and served the Irish coffee in glasses with a handle so it looked like an Irish Guinness beer. In the 1950s, an American travel journalist brought the recipe to the United States where it is still a popular cult drink. The Irish coffee is enjoyed in social gatherings at the pub, in the late afternoon after a walk or also after dinner.