It is a rare cocktail that comes with provenance. Most of the time, you get a little history liberally spiced with speculation and myth. Irish Coffee, however, has its own, well-documented origin story.

It was a dark and stormy night…

It was a dark night in the port of Foynes in County Limerick when passengers bound for New York were forced back to Ireland by storms on the Atlantic. The chef, Joe Sheridan, realized he would have a lot of cold and cranky customers on his hands. So, he decided to greet them with something to lessen their misery. Looking at what he had on hand, he quickly started some coffee, took out some brown sugar and cream, and got out a bottle of Irish Whiskey. According to legend, one of the passengers inquired if Joe was serving Brazilian coffee, to which Joe replied, “No, they’re Irish Coffees.”

The Birth of a Classic

Irish Coffee was a hit. When Joe moved on to Shannon Airport, he took his drink with him. Eventually, he ran into travel writer Stanton Delaplane, who took the idea back to San Francisco and the Buena Vista Cafe.

In San Francisco, the Buena Vista’s co-owners, Jake Koeppler and George Freeberge went to work recreating the recipe. The key? Perfecting how to float the cream on the top of the coffee so it wouldn’t melt into the coffee like a Salvador Dali painting. 

The Irish Coffee was as big a hit in the New World as it was in the Old. In The Craft of the Cocktail, Dale DeGroff describes the perfect Irish Coffee as “cold cream, hot sweet coffee, laced with wonderful Irish whiskey.”

So what makes a perfect Irish Coffee? It starts with the glass.

Take one traditional Irish Coffee glass and pour in boiling water. Let it sit for a bit until the glass is toasty to the touch. Toss out the water and begin. The original recipe went something like this.

Hot Black Coffee

1 tsp. Brown Sugar

1.5 oz. Irish Whiskey

1-2 Tbsp. Cream

Once the glass is toasty, add coffee and sugar. Stir until combined, then add the whiskey and top it all off with cream.

According to Emerald Heritage, the original recipe includes the directions: “To add your cream use a jug with a thin spout and pour slowly over the back of a teaspoon onto the top surface of the coffee until you reach the rim of the glass.”

Decisions, Decisions.

What type of… coffee, sugar, cream, or whiskey? Well, that all depends on your preferences. It may require a judicious bit of trial and error to match your taste buds with the perfect suite of ingredients.

Coffee can be a light, dark, or espresso roast, and the grinds can run from fine to coarse, depending on how you intend to brew it. A fine grind is perfect if you wish to go the espresso route. A coarse grind works well for cold brewing, a technique that soaks the ground beans overnight (12-24 hours). It produces a brew that lacks the chemicals that make coffee bitter, so the final concoction is rich and mellow.

Sugar recommendations range from table sugar to Demerara; some even trend darker toward molasses or maple syrup. Darker sugars give Irish Coffee a delicate caramel zing, but try molasses if you want a more intense, earthy flavor. When choosing a sugar, take into consideration your choice of whiskey. In general, the sweeter the whiskey, the lighter the sugar, and the darker the coffee, the darker the sugar.

The cream is always heavy. The difference is in the whip. A light whip provides structure without the stiff peaks or ridges like the heavily whipped cream used on hot chocolate or pie. The perfect cream is whipped enough to hold its shape and sit on the coffee without showing ridges.

Then, of course, there is the whiskey. Most Irish Coffee uses a solid blended whiskey like Jameson. Looking for something a little different? You can try a single-malt Irish like Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old, aged in bourbon casks, or Sexton Single Malt. However, you can’t go wrong with a classic blended like Tullamore D.E.W..

Buena Vista Cafe’s Recipe, perfected since 1952 (and with seventy years of history you have to think they’ve got it right) is:

4 - 6 oz. brewed medium roast Colombian coffee

2 C&H sugar cubes

1.33 oz. Tullamore D.E.W.

Heavy cream, lightly whipped

To Garnish, or Not To Garnish?

The original Irish Coffee wasn’t garnished. But many mixologists can’t resist the look of a dusting of nutmeg or shaved chocolate on their drink. It appears that anything you’d put on a latte is now welcome on an Irish Coffee - from nutmeg or cinnamon to vanilla and chocolate, or a twist of candied orange. But those who like their coffee strong and their whiskey straight may opt to forgo these festive toppings.

Progress, alas, is always on the march, and it is hard for bartenders and mixologists not to put their own spin on any cocktail, let alone a classic. Here are some variations on the Irish Coffee theme you may enjoy.

• Amp up the coffee flavor by adding a coffee or espresso-based liqueur like Kova Coffee Liquor, or garnish with a few drops of bitters like Bittermans Xocolate Mole, which combines cacao, cinnamon, and spices.
• Looking for something sweeter? Add a dollop of an Irish cream liqueur like Bailey’s or Irish Mist.
• The Vintage Coffee Cocktail takes it to a new level with a Guinness reduction with malt and vanilla beans. Interested? The recipe is here.
• Not feeling like getting your Irish on? Sub out the Irish whiskey for Scotch - something peaty will lend a smoky edge.
• Looking for a Caribbean vibe? Exchange your whiskey for rum and dust with Cardamom.

A Classic is always a Classic.

If you happen to be in the San Francisco area and want to try a classic Irish Coffee, you are in luck. The Buena Vista Cafe still stands and still makes some of the best Irish Coffee on the planet.

Have your favorite twist to the classic Irish Coffee? Let us know in the comments.

Cheers!