Today is National Irish Coffee Day ! Here’s a bit of history courtesy of Wikipedia before we get to the classic recipe below.
…..“The origin of the Irish coffee is highly disputed. According to certain sources the original Irish coffee was invented by Joseph Sheridan, a head chef at Foynes, County Limerick but originally from Castlederg, County Tyrone. Foynes’ port was the precursor to Shannon International Airport in the west of Ireland; the coffee was conceived after a group of American passengers disembarked from a Pan Am flying boat on a miserable winter evening in the 1940s. Sheridan added whiskey to the coffee to warm the passengers. After the passengers asked if they were being served Brazilian coffee, Sheridan told them it was Irish coffee. Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, brought Irish coffee to the United States after drinking it at Shannon Airport, when he worked with the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco to start serving it on November 10, 1952, and worked with the bar owners Jack Koeppler and George Freeberg to recreate the Irish method for floating the cream on top of the coffee, sampling the drink one night until he nearly passed out.”
Irish Coffee:
1 oz Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey (Or your favorite Brand)
2 tsp Demerara sugar
Strong black coffee
Extra Thick Whipping cream
Preparation: First thing you’ll need is a warm glass and teaspoon to start. To do this take your glass, place the teaspoon inside, and add boiling water. Empty out hot water then : Add your Whiskey followed by your sugar and stir. Next Add strong black coffee until your cup is about 3/4th’s full. Next add whipping cream over the back of the warm teaspoon to insure the cream floats on the coffee. Enjoy !
