Irish Coffee Cocktail Recipe
Hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar under a collar of softly whipped cream.
- Category: Contemporary Classics
- Glass: Irish coffee mug
- ABV: 10%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~4 min
Ingredients
- Irish whiskey40 ml (1.4 oz)
- Hot brewed coffee90 ml (3 oz)
- Brown sugar1 tsp
- Lightly whipped cream30 ml (1 oz)
How to Make It
- Warm the glass and dissolve sugar in hot coffee.
- Add Irish whiskey and stir.
- Gently float lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon.
- Do not stir — drink through the cream.
Garnish
Dusting of coffee or nutmeg
What it tastes like
There is roasted coffee in it and the texture is creamy.
The technique
Layering. The liqueurs sit on each other by sugar density — the sweetest one goes in first, at the bottom. Each layer is poured slowly over the BACK of a bar spoon so it spreads instead of punching through. Rush it and the layers fold together, and there is no fixing that.
Glass and ice
A handled, thick-walled Irish coffee mug. Built for hot drinks: the handle protects your hand and the thick glass holds the heat. Warming it with hot water first noticeably changes the first sip.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Irish whiskey
- Triple-distilled, smooth and without smoke. A non-peated blended Scotch stands in for it; use bourbon and the drink turns noticeably sweeter.
The Story
Created in the 1940s at Foynes (Shannon) Airport to warm cold transatlantic passengers.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Irish Coffee mixed?
- It is layered and served in an Irish coffee mug.
- How strong is a Irish Coffee?
- Roughly 10% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Irish Coffee be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Irish Coffee hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Coffee in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.