I sat at the edge of the bar, a Guinness sitting on a ripped coaster. It was 2017, in the heart of Dublin. I beckon the bartender for a coffee and to close my tab for the evening. After some time, he walks over and hands me this dark drink in with a creamy white foam atop. I merely wanted a cup of hot coffee to get me going for the walk back to my hotel on that cold evening. However, as I sipped on that Irish Coffee, the warm deliciousness was a welcome sensation. Something about the cold cream contrasting with the hot coffee that packs a punch from the whiskey. That grateful mistake was the inspiration to recreate that amazing cocktail – the Irish Coffee – and is how I began my search for this recipe.
The original recipe calls for Demerara sugar and for good reason. A less processed sugar out of British Guyana it is darker in color, but it is NOT the same as brown sugar. You can replace the demerara sugar with dark brown sugar, but the flavors will be different. Demerara sugar has a certain depth to it that the molasses covered sugar that masquerades as brown sugar cannot replace. If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend it as it adds great depth to the cocktail.
One of the two major ingredients, is coffee. Even though this is a cocktail, you should use the best coffee that fits your taste buds. I found that South American coffee beans offer the best flavor profile and accentuate the barrel aged flavors of the whiskey. An eastern African coffee could work, but it’s fruit undertones will conflict with the oak and smokiness of the whiskey.
Invented in the 1940s, the Irish Coffee was created in a hotel off the coast of Ireland, where pilots and seamen would stop before continuing their voyage. It’s simplicity allows the flavors to melt amazingly well and bring one of the best hot cocktails you will ever drink. Smooth drinking, it’s a fantastic night cap, regardless of whether you’re caffeine sensitive or not!
Irish Coffee
The Irish Coffee is an amazing blend of coffee and whiskey! The warmness of the coffee, coupled with the coldness of the cream team up together to deliver a slightly sweet, but potent cocktail that works great as a night cap.
Ingredients
- 4 oz hot coffee
- 2 oz Irish whiskey
- 2 oz heavy cream
- 1 tsp demerara sugar/dark brown sugar, or 1/2 oz demerara syrup
Instructions
- Heat treat the glass with hot water. This is simply adding hot water to the cocktail glass so that it does not leach heat from the cocktail.
- Prepare your hot coffee.
- Whip some heavy cream so that it begins to thicken - to the point where it can stay as a drop on your finger. We don't want whipped cream, but we also dont want straight cream - we want somewhere in between.
- Empty the hot water from the glass.
- Add the sugar or syrup to the glass and add about an ounce of hot coffee. Then, using a bar spoon, stir until the sugar has dissolved into the coffee.
- Add the whiskey.
- Continue to add coffee until you have a gap about an 1/2.5 cm from the top, stirring as you go.
- Add the cream to the top by means of a squeeze bottle, or by pouring it over the back of a spoon so that it slowly pours into the top of the cocktail.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Although it calls for 2 ounces of heavy cream, you're likely not going to use it all!
Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 cocktailAmount Per Serving Calories 350Total Fat 20gCarbohydrates 8gSugar 4gProtein 0g
