Real Irish Coffee

Overview:

Irish coffee (Caife Gaelach) is a very popular beverage. It consists of Irish whiskey (Jameson), hot coffee, sugar, and regular heavy cream on top. For real Irish coffee these ingredients must be added in the right proportion, stirred and served with a topping of thick cream. The peculiarity of this coffee is that, it is drunk through the thickness of the cream. The cream is not stirred into the coffee.

Nowadays, whipped cream is used to top the Irish coffee drink, which can be compared to a variant of a hot toddy. But in the original recipe of this drink, regular heavy cream was used, not whipped cream. Whipped cream was added to the mix by second generation Irish immigrants in the late twentieth century. On St. Patrick’s Day Irish coffee is a favorite of the day and is in high demand because of its flavor, aroma and appearance.

When you talk about Irish coffee, you might be curious about the origin of this drink. It was invented by Joseph Sheridan, who was the head chef at Foynes, a place situated in County Tyrone in Ireland. The invention of this drink was a coincidence, when a group of American passengers landed on the Foynes port on a cold winter evening in 1940.

Recognizing the miserable state of the passengers, Sheridan added a small amount of whiskey to their coffee to give them some warmth. After consuming this mouth-savoring drink, the passengers asked Sheridan, if it was Brazilian coffee. He replied that it is Irish coffee. Irish coffee became a new drink at the pubs of Ireland and was soon a favorite at the Shannon Airport.  

A gentleman by the name of Stanton Delaplane of San Francisco brought the Irish coffee recipe to the United States following a visit to Ireland in the late1940s. He made it popular by writing about it in his journal. It didn’t take long for Irish coffee to be quickly accepted worldwide. It is very easy to make Irish coffee. The mixture consists of black coffee, Irish whiskey and thick cream. Pour the black coffee into a mug along with an ounce of Irish whiskey, preferably Jameson Whisky. Add one spoon of sugar and stir it till it is completely dissolved. Sugar is essential otherwise the whipped cream will not float on top of the coffee. If you are using regular heavy cream instead of whipped cream, pour it slowly over the mix. You now have Irish coffee.

Irish coffee is always a favorite in Irish pubs as well as most neighbor bars and taverns. As all alcoholic drinks, too much of it will make you intoxicated. If your favorite pub does not serve Irish coffee it probably isn’t Irish. If that is the case I suggest that it is time to find a new pub, and make it Irish.

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