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How to Make Irish Coffee

My sister Peg shows us here how to make Irish Coffee. The coffee is strong and bracing, with the flavors of the coffee and whiskey offset by sugar cubes and a thick layer of heavy cream.

Glass mug of Irish coffee with cream on top

(A Post Written by Peggy Abood)

Maureen and I have always felt a special kinship to Saint Patrick’s Day which must have originated with birth when our 100% Lebanese parents gave each of their daughters Irish sounding names.

And it didn’t end there: when Camille and Maryalice sent us each off to Saint Mary’s for college they were setting us down a very particular path resulting in many things, including this: a very high proportion of our lifelong friends would be the beautiful daughters of Ireland, who are fixtures of the school.

Which brings me to our next drinks installment, just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day. Like most drinks with some age on them, there’s controversy over the origins of the drink. Some insist it was created by some enterprising workers at the Shannon Airport trying to keep overseas passengers warm.

Others claim Irish Coffee was invented the long-closed Dolphin bar in Dublin. In any case, there’s no argument that the drink was introduced to the US through a columnist for the New York Herald Tribune. The year was 1948, the drink’s author, the wonderfully named Clementine Paddleford.

We’ve had the privilege of paging through vintage copies of her cookbooks – if you ever get your hands on one at a garage sale or on a vintage book site like alibris.com, don’t hesitate. Paddleford was known most especially for her no nonsense style and celebration of the home cook.

We brew up Irish Coffee for anyone at our table on March 17th, with a toast to Irish sisters everywhere.

Jameson Irish Whiskey bottle

Ingredients to Make Irish Coffee

Just a few ingredients will get you there:

  • 2 cubes sugar (or 2 teaspoons granulated sugar)
  • Strong brewed coffee, hot
  • Irish whiskey (such as Old Bushmill’s or Jamesons)
  • Heavy whipping cream, cold

Jameson Irish Whiskey with a jigger

How to Make Irish Coffee, Step-by-Step

Step 1. Make a pot of strong coffee.

Step 2. Fill a glass goblet with hot water to heat it up, then dump out the water.

Step 3. Drop in the two sugar cubes or granulated sugar.

Step 4. Pour the strong, hot coffee over the sugar cubes, to fill about 3/4 of the glass. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and mixed.

Step 5. Add 1 ½ oz Irish whiskey (Old Bushmill’s, Jamesons) with a bit of room left in the glass for the cream.

Step 6. Using a whisk, lightly whip heavy whipping cream in a small bowl until the cream is slightly thickened. Take care not to over whip (we’re not going for whipped cream). Turn a spoon upside down (bowl of the spoon facing down), and pour the thickened cream down the back of the spoon, layering onto the top of the coffee. Don’t stir the cream into the coffee, to keep the layers visible. Serve immediately.


Two sugar cubes in glass mug for Irish Coffee

FAQs Tips for Making Irish Coffee

There are just a few ingredients in this Irish Coffee recipe, so use them all and use good ingredients!

Can I skip the heavy cream? Sure. But whipped cream requires heavy cream, not a lighter milk.

Can I make vegan Irish Coffee? To make vegan Irish Coffee, make the whipped cream using coconut milk or auqafaba, the liquid from cooked chickpeas (see this recipe!).

Can Irish coffee be made in advance? You could make the coffee together with the sugar, then reheat that when you’re ready to serve. Add the whiskey and top with the cream just before serving.

Cream and a whisk in a glass bowl
Irish coffee with Jameson whiskey

More Favorite Cocktails from Peggy to Enjoy

Orange Blossom Gin Fizz

Amaro Cocktail

Mulberry Manhattan

Glass mug of Irish coffee with cream on top

How to Make Irish Coffee

Peggy Abood
Use strong coffee here and serve it very hot! This coffee is bracing, with the flavors of the coffee and whiskey offset by sugar cubes and a thick layer of heavy cream.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cubes sugar (or 2 teaspoons granulated sugar)
  • 4 oz. strong brewed coffee, hot
  • 1.5 oz. Irish whiskey (such as Old Bushmill’s or Jamesons)
  • 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, cold

Instructions
 

  • Fill a glass goblet with hot water to heat it up, then dump out the water.
  • Drop in the two sugar cubes or granulated sugar.
  • Pour the strong, hot coffee over the sugar cubes, to fill about 3/4 of the glass. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and mixed.
  • Add 1 ½ oz Irish whiskey (Old Bushmill’s, Jamesons) with a bit of room left in the glass for the cream.
  • Using a whisk, lightly whip heavy whipping cream in a small bowl until the cream is slightly thickened. Take care not to over whip (we’re not going for whipped cream). Turn a spoon upside down (bowl of the spoon facing down), and pour the thickened cream down the back of the spoon, layering onto the top of the coffee. Don't stir the cream into the coffee, to keep the layers visible. Serve immediately.

6 Comments

  1. Ann OB on March 13, 2020 at 6:13 PM

    Love an Irish Coffee and love the recipe! Just for clarification Bushmill’s is in Northern Ireland and Jameson is in Republic of Ireland. There is a BIG cultural and religious difference. Also, we have discovered brown sugar! Amazing nutty flavor.
    Totally with Peggy on the soft whip cream!!!!

    • Maureen Abood on March 15, 2020 at 10:21 AM

      Ann O’Brien! Thank you for great detail-level on the Bushmill’s and Jameson whiskeys. Brown sugar, yes!! When I shot the photos for this recipe I debated using brown or white, since we use both at various times and I had both at the ready for the recipe and pics. Thank you for emphasizing the deliciousness that is brown sugar. I imagine you’ve enjoyed and make some of the finest Irish Coffee on the planet!

  2. Kristen on March 14, 2020 at 5:53 AM

    Yum! Peg and Maureen I will definitely give this a try – not much else is going on this weekend in Chicago!

    • Maureen Abood on March 15, 2020 at 10:17 AM

      Right?!!

  3. Denise Saker on March 19, 2020 at 6:17 PM

    Lassies! Your 100% Lebanese cousin loves Irish coffee and uses Tullamore D.E.W. I’ve not tried brown sugar or whipping cream but now I will. Slainte!

    • Maureen Abood on March 26, 2020 at 7:24 AM

      Well we will have to get after the Tullamore D.E.W. then!! xoxo

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Maureen Abood in the kitchen

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