Irish Coffee
Recipe: Reprinted with permission from Jason Clark and The Art & Craft of Coffee Cocktails, Ryland Peters & Small.
Photo: Alex Attikov Osyka
A classic winter warmer.
The creation of Irish chef Joseph Sheridan, who first invented the coffee cocktail on a dreary night back in the 1940s to rouse tired, chilly American travelers, Irish Coffee has since become a staple of bar menus around the world. It’s a comforting blend of whiskey, coffee, brown sugar and cream that warms you to the core.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup fresh-brewed hot espresso or coffee of your choice
- 1 tsp. white sugar
- 1 ½ oz. Irish whiskey
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Tools:coffee brewer, whisk (or electric frother)
- Glass:toddy
- Garnish:freshly grated nutmeg
Preparation
Preheat a heatproof glass with hot water and discard the water from the glass. Shake the cream in a cocktail shaker (or whisk with a small tubular whisk) to a thicker but still fluid consistency. Put all the remaining ingredients in the warm glass (sugar, whiskey, then coffee), making sure the sugar has dissolved and been stirred into the coffee and whiskey before gently layering the cream over the surface of the drink using a flat-bottomed spoon. Garnish with grated nutmeg, if using, and serve at once.