How to Make Irish Coffee, Everyone’s Favorite Nightcap

Irish coffee is a classic—the flavors of coffee and whiskey complement each other perfectly in this hot drink. It sometimes gets a bad rap because it often isn't made the right way: Some restaurants serve coffee and sugary Irish cream, coffee and flavored syrups, or a little whiskey poured into a basic cup of Joe and call it Irish coffee.

When it is made well, Irish coffee is a truly memorable experience—and one you'll want to enjoy on the regular, not just on March 17. What's more, Irish coffee is an easy dessert cocktail to make at home. And when sipped through a float of freshly whipped cream, it's a delicious and elegant after-dinner drink.

What Is Irish Coffee?

Irish coffee is a simple combination of four ingredients:

• hot coffee
• whiskey
• sugar
• cream

These four ingredients create one of the coziest coffee cocktails. Its inventor was a chef named Joe Sheridan, who worked at Shannon Airport in Ireland.

History

The drink rally took off after being added to the menu at the Buena Vista restaurant in San Francisco a few years later. Travel writer Stanton Delaplane described a drink he had enjoyed at Shannon Airport in Ireland—and Buena Vista owner, Jack Koeppler, wanted to recreate it. The bar staff experimented until they figured out how to create the perfect whipped cream float on the coffee-whiskey drink. Soon, the Buena Vista was making hundreds of Irish coffees daily and still does to this day.

How to Make the Best Irish Coffee

• When making Irish coffee, a good ratio of coffee to whiskey is 4 ounces of coffee to 1.5 ounces of whiskey.
• It's essential to use freshly brewed coffee—not leftovers from breakfast.
• Sometimes bartenders add Bailey's, Kaluha, a flavored syrup, or even an amaro at to the coffee, but we think simplicity is best.

Keep the Coffee Hot

It's essential that the coffee is very hot (this ensures the whipped cream float stays in place—and who wants cold Irish coffee?). To ensure this, the Buena Vista warms heatproof 6-ounce glasses with hot water before adding the rest of the ingredients. According to TD Sidell, a bartender and mixologist based in Brooklyn, this step is absolutely critical. He uses a simple ceramic mug to give the drink a more sophisticated look—it's more refined than those popular curvy glass mugs.

Sugar

Sugar is a necessary component of Irish coffee. It's needed to make the cream float at the top. The sugar is added to the coffee either when the coffee is brewed or when it's poured into each cup or glass. Typically, granulated white sugar is used; 1 to 2 teaspoons per drink. At the Buena Vista, they use two standard sugar cubes per drink.

Several bartenders and mixologists who have been playing around with Irish coffee suggest using 2 teaspoons of demerara sugar for a mild caramel flavor that complements the whiskey, but doesn't overpower it.

Whipped Cream Float

The perfect cloud of unsweetened whipped cream that floats on top of an Irish Coffee must be whipped by hand—this is not the time for canned whipped cream. Whip the cream until extremely soft peaks form. Bartenders pour the cream over the back of a teaspoon to create a perfectly layered cocktail; this is easy to do at home as long as you whip the cream lightly so it's still pourable.

The Method

1. Assemble the ingredients.
2. Fill glasses with hot water to warm them.
3. Whip the cream.
4. Empty the glasses and add the sugar and hot coffee, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
5. Add the whiskey to each glass.
6. Top each drink with a whipped cream float, pouring the cream gently over the back of a teaspoon.

The Best Coffee and Whiskey to Use for Irish Coffee

When choosing which coffee and whiskey to use, know that your final selections really will make a difference; Irish coffee is a simple drink, so the quality of the ingredients will be obvious. Remember: Coffee is a very strong flavor and can easily overpower the more subtle flavors of whisky. Also, sometimes the flavor notes of the two ingredients—such as caramel, vanilla, and toasted nuts—can be quite similar, so it's best to choose a brew that will highlight and complement the whiskey you use.

Columbian coffees, like the full-bodied Gradient from Counter Culture, are a great place to start. Pair them with a well-balanced whiskey that has smokey and fruity notes. Matthew Kaner, co-founder of Bar Covell in Los Angeles, makes his Irish coffee with Knappogue Castle 12-year Single Malt. He likes it because it is mellow and well-balanced with bright elegant fruitiness. Other widely-available Irish whiskeys to consider include Tullamore D.E.W, Jameson, or Bushmill's.

Kenyan coffees are a bit bolder and more complex, with assertive acidity and berry notes. They pair well with whiskeys aged in sherry casks, such as Dublin Liberties Copper Alley, Redbreast 15 Year Old, or Slane Irish Whiskey.