The recipe
for your table
Preheat the glass with hot water and pour it away.
Put the sugar in the glass, pour in the hot coffee and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the whiskey and stir briefly once more.
Pour the lumpy cream over the rounded side of a warm spoon so that it stays on the coffee. Do not stir - drink the coffee through the cream.
The story
Winter 1943, Foynes air base on Ireland's west coast. A seaplane to New York had to turn back because of a storm, and chef Joe Sheridan warmed the distraught passengers with coffee to which he added whiskey and cream. When asked whether it was Brazilian coffee, he replied: "No, that's Irish coffee." Journalist Stanton Delaplane took the recipe to the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco, where in 1952 they experimented until the cream floated perfectly. That bar still serves thousands a day - always according to Sheridan's original.
The right glass
The classic Irish coffee glass - on a foot, with a handle or stem and a capacity of 24 to 28 cl - is not decoration but a tool. The tempered glass can withstand hot coffee, the foot protects the table and fingers, and through the transparent wall you can see the famous separation between black coffee and white cream. Precisely for that reason, this classic should never be served in a mug. If you also serve regular coffee or latte macchiato in a glass, take a look at our coffee glasses.
Onis Acapulco Irish Coffee Glass 28 cl (6 pieces)
Libbey Sentido Irish Coffee Glass 26 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets — together € 33,90.
The right tool
For an Irish Coffee, in addition to the glass, you use a bar spoon for stirring and a jigger for precise measuring. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools - together € 47,85.
Variations & twists
With rum it becomes a Caribbean Coffee, with Licor 43 a Spanish, and with amaretto an Italian - the glass stays the same. Purists leave the cream unsweetened: the sugar is already in the coffee. One rule is non-negotiable: never use aerosol whipped cream. Want more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
The cream is the test: whip it until it is thick but pourable (think: yogurt) and pour it over a spoon. The sugar is not optional - it helps the cream float and binds the coffee and whiskey together.
How to Keep the Cream Floating
Four things usually go wrong here. The cream must be whipped until softly thickened, as thick as yogurt but still just pourable, because stiffly whipped cream falls down in a lump. The coffee must be hot and sweetened, because the two teaspoons of sugar increase the density of the liquid below and support the cream. Pour the 3 cl of cream over the rounded side of a warm spoon, just above the surface. And do not stir afterward, because you drink the coffee through the cream. Aerosol whipped cream contains air and sinks within a minute.
Alcohol-Free Irish Coffee
The proportions remain the same; only the whiskey is omitted. Use 12 cl of strong filter coffee, two teaspoons of brown sugar and 4 cl of a 0.0 whiskey alternative or, more simply, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract with a splash of extra coffee. The sugar content is more important than ever here, because without alcohol, sugar is the only thing that supports the cream. Whip the 3 cl of cream until it is just as softly whipped as in the original and pour it over a warm spoon. Serve it in the same stemmed glass, and no one at the table will notice that anything is missing.
Irish Coffee, Spanish Coffee or Baileys
Swap the Irish whiskey for Licor 43 and you have a Spanish Coffee: sweeter, with notes of vanilla and citrus. Rum makes it a Caribbean Coffee, while amaretto makes it an Italian. Coffee with Baileys is different, because the cream is already in the liqueur, making the division between black and white disappear and resulting in a creamier, sweeter drink. The classic Irish Coffee remains the only one with that clear two-tone division in the glass. The glass itself remains the same in every case: stemmed, made of tempered glass, 24 to 28 cl.
Which Irish whiskey, and why not bourbon?
Choose an Irish blend such as Jameson, Bushmills or Powers. Irish whiskey is usually triple-distilled, making it smooth, lightly sweet and free of harsh edges - exactly what you want alongside bitter coffee. Bourbon brings heavy vanilla and oak notes that compete with the coffee's roasted flavors, while rye makes the whole thing peppery. A peated Scotch malt is completely unsuitable, because the smoke and coffee clash. A mid-range bottle is more than sufficient, since the 4 cl is fully absorbed into 12 cl of coffee.
Frequently asked questions
What is in an Irish Coffee?
An Irish Coffee consists of 4 cl Irish whiskey, 12 cl hot, strong filter coffee, two teaspoons of brown sugar and 3 cl lightly whipped cream. Nothing more. The sugar isn't a flavoring but a technique: it binds the coffee and whiskey and helps the cream stay on top.
How do you make a proper Irish Coffee?
Preheat the glass with hot water, dissolve the sugar in the hot coffee, then add the whiskey and pour the soft, pillowy cream over the rounded side of a warm spoon. Don't stir: you drink the coffee through the cream. Serve in a footed tempered-glass glass; see our Irish coffee glasses.
Which whisky do you use for Irish Coffee?
Irish whiskey - it's in the name. Choose a smooth, triple-distilled blend such as Jameson or Bushmills: rounded enough not to compete with the coffee. Peaty Scotch whisky and bourbon with heavy vanilla notes are clearly less suitable. You don't need an expensive bottle.
Why doesn't the cream stay floating on my Irish Coffee?
Usually, the cream is either too thin or whipped too stiff. It should be soft and pillowy, about the thickness of yogurt, and you should pour it slowly over the rounded side of a warm spoon. Don't skip the sugar either: without sugar, the coffee is too light and the cream sinks straight through it.
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