Irish Coffee

Irish Coffee

I first discovered Irish Coffee while rehearsing for a murder mystery at Kells Irish Pub in Portland Oregon. I was always mistakenly under the impression that Irish Coffee contained Baileys and therefore just did not hold as much interest to me. However, when I discovered that this was not the case my curiosity was all the more piqued. I then watched as the bartender prepared this masterpiece. A spoonful of brown sugar, some Jameson Irish Whiskey and then coffee. What he did next forever sealed this as my favorite hot cocktail. He took a spoon, rested it on the edge of the glass and slowly poured heavy whipping cream over the top. It cascaded down and floated perfectly on top of the coffee. And the taste was amazing. Warm, sweet, sipping the coffee through the rich cream with the right smoothness of Jameson to finish off every sip. My friend Leia was with me and as she saw the magic taking place she also ordered an Irish Coffee. And yes, the second one, for each of us, tasted just as good as the first. And it was one of my favorite rehearsals ever. 



The beauty of the Irish Coffee is the simplicity of the ingredients and their preparation. There is no need to buy a bunch of fancy syrups or liqueurs. No need for a tremendous amount of juicing or muddling. However, you do want to make sure you use the correct glassware. The key is thick glass with a handle or a strong solid stem as you will be holding a hot beverage. Thin glass can crack, or simply become too hot to hold.  Also, much like chilling a glass for a colder cocktail you’ll want to warm the glass for an Irish Coffee. This is best done by pouring hot water into the glass a minute or so before you prepare the cocktail itself. 



While it is the last ingredient added to the Irish Coffee it is best to prepare the cream first. You just want to whip the cream ever so slightly, all you want to do is mix air into the cream giving it a lighter texture so that it will float on top of the coffee. The common errors are to either not whip enough in which case your cream simply sinks into the glass like a typical everyday cup of joe. Or you whip it too much and now you have a thick blob of cream that you have to scoop, dollop, or jiggle into the glass, which often spills some of the coffee making a mess and then floats in the middle of your drink like an iceberg of shame. For a single coffee I recommend mixing about 1 oz of heavy whipping cream and a ½ oz of simple syrup in a small glass. To whip the cream use a small whisk or fork to stir vigorously, or ideally use a small battery powered hand mixer like you would use to froth a cup of coffee. Alright, if the cream is ready it’s time to build our cocktail.

Irish Coffee
2 oz Irish whiskey
1 tsp brown sugar
4-5 oz hot coffee
Heavy cream
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Mix 1 oz heavy whipping cream with ½ oz simple syrup in a separate small glass. Pour hot water into a thick handled or thick stemmed glass. Let sit while you brew about 4-5 oz coffee. Pour out hot water, scoop 1 spoonful brown sugar, add 2 oz Irish Whiskey. Stir. Add coffee. Stir. Using warm spoon on edge of glass pour cream over spoon as it floats on top of the coffee.  


If the coffee is not yet brewed, now is the time to do so. You’ll want to stay away from flavored coffee’s. A nice medium or dark roast should do you nicely. I prefer Starbucks Pike Place roast, but I leave that to your coffee palate. Now, while waiting for the coffee to brew fill the glass about ¾ full of hot water. The glass will steam up and this is a good sign. After about a minute or once your coffee is brewed pour out the hot water. Now scoop 1 spoonful of brown sugar into your glass and add 2 oz of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Use the spoon to break up the brown sugar and stir slightly into the whiskey. Now pour about 4-5 oz of the hot coffee and stir once or twice. You should have about 1/2 an inch or less to the top of the glass. The perfect place to float the cream. Now place the warm spoon upside down on the rim of your glass. And gently pour the cream over the top of the spoon. It should cascade down the spoon and float on top of the coffee giving it a nice frothy head, much like a fine stout. Once it reaches the top, remove the spoon and serve.