Irish Coffee
Irish Coffee
Equipment
- Coffee Maker
- Measuring Equipment (jigger)
- Glass
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 120 ml Fresh-Brewed Coffee (4 oz)
- 45 ml Irish Whiskey (1½ oz)
- 30 ml Simple Syrup (1oz)
- Unsweetened Partially Whipped Cream
Instructions
- Before beginning this recipe, make the Partially Whipped Cream.
- Brew some coffee and keep it hot.
- In an Irish coffee glass, heat tempered glass, or mug, combine the coffee, whiskey, and simple syrup.
- Stir to combine.
- Gently ladle 2.5 cm (1 inch) of partially whipped cream on top of the coffee mixture, and serve immediately.
- You should end up with a 2 to 2.5cm ( ¾- to 1-inch) layer of cream that’s cleanly floating on top of the coffee, creating a sharp demarcation between black and white.
Notes
Choosing the right Ingredients for a perfect Irish Coffee
If you want to make a great Irish coffee, you need to build it properly (more on that in a moment) and you need to use to quality ingredients.
Don’t even think about ruining this morning classic with cheap coffee. Put your Nescafe Gold away and break out your moka pot or drip coffee machine. Our personal preference is for a bean that is on the bitter side. Anything light, fruity, and/or floral just won’t pair well here.
Now that we’ve got the coffee covered, let’s talk about the whiskey. We did a lot of research into what whiskey would make this drink work. We landed on Teeling Whiskey (small batch). It’s a beautiful Irish whiskey that has subtle notes of vanilla that shine through in this cocktail, making it an excellent choice. It’s also very moderately prices, at around $35 a bottle.
Sadly, I can only find Teeling products like this in the US. You might have to visit your local liquor shop and ask around to find it.
Don’t use Coolwhip or Aerosol ‘cream.’ It won’t give you the right texture or taste. In short, it will ruin this cocktail.
The Right Ratio
I distinctly remember the first time I had an Irish coffee. A friend made it for me. They dumped a bunch of whiskey into a coffee cup and topped it off with coffee. It was horrible and turned me off to the Irish Coffee cocktail for over 20 years.
Don’t make this mistake. Don’t be a reckless cowboy that doesn’t measure. We can’t stress this enough when making cocktails. You will fail every time if you don’t measure.
Keep your coffee-to-whiskey ratio at 3:1. You can reduce the whiskey a little if you find the drink too strong, but this recipe should hit the mark perfectly for most people.
Adding the cream is a little bit of a challenge the first time you do it. First of all, don’t use regular cream. It won’t layer well. Create partially whipped cream. Once you have partially whipped cream, use the back of a spoon. Position the spoon on the inside wall of the glass, just above the liquid. Slowly pour the cream so it hits the back of the spoon and flows into the drink. This will help create a the upper cream layer on top of the drink.
Getting Your Head Right
If you’re unsure about how to make partially whipped cream, check out our recipe.
Lastly, don’t worry if you don’t have a proper Irish Coffee glass. We don’t have them and we don’t plan on buying them. Any small/medium glass will do. You can try using a wine glass. Just make sure the glass can handle the hot temperature of the coffee.
If you’ve done everything right, you should have a cocktail with a strong division between the black and white.
If you’re shipping up to Boston, you might take that Irish Coffee to go.