Today, January 25, is Irish Coffee Day . We’ve scoured the blog archives and picked out our favorite Irish Coffee drinks to enjoy the day with.
The Irish Coffee is a classic coffee drink that, according to history, was created at Shannon Airport on a late, cold winter night in 1943. The original is drunk hot with Irish whiskey (e.g. Tullamore D.E.W.), cool whipped cream and without a straw. In addition to the original, we share the recipes for two additional versions of the classic drink – one vegan and one with cold brew coffee.
The background to Irish Coffee
The hot coffee drink, as the story goes, was created in the winter of 1943 at Shannon Airport (Foynes Port) in Ireland by Joseph “Joe” Sheridan. Late one winter night in 1943, a passenger flight leaves Foynes for New York. After several hours in the air, the weather drastically deteriorates over the Atlantic and the captain is forced to turn back to await safer conditions.
A Morse message is sent to Foyne control tower to inform the airport of the plane’s return. Joe Sheridan and staff are called back to the restaurant to receive the shaken and frozen passengers and offer something warm and refreshing on landing.
According to the story, Joe was inspired by the harsh and cold weather conditions and had some Irish whiskey mixed in with the coffee and topped off with lightly whipped cream. The hot coffee drink was an instant hit, and legend has it that a hush fell over the restaurant as the tired and cold guests sipped the warm and invigorating drink.
One of the passengers later thanked Joe for the wonderful coffee and asked if it was “Brazillian Coffee?”. Joe jokingly replied: “No, it’s Irish Coffee!” and so the now classic drink was born.
Bästa Irish Coffee-drinkar
To celebrate Irish Coffee Day, here are our top three Irish Coffee drinks – the original and two variations for those who want something new.
Traditional Irish Coffee – A warming classic
You need:
- 4-5 cl Tullamore D.E.W.
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- About 10-12 cl of hot coffee
- Whipped cream
Make sure all the ingredients are ready before you start mixing your Irish Coffee. You don’t want the coffee to cool down while you whisk the cream.
This is how you do it:
1. Brew the coffee according to the usual method (8g coffee/1.5 dl water).
2. Lightly shake the cream in a shaker. Here we want to achieve the same texture as melted ice cream. We’ll aerate it slightly so that it binds together easily and doesn’t sink through the coffee.
3. Temporarily fill your Irish Coffee glass with boiling water so that the glass warms up properly before you start.
4. Fill the now empty and hot glass in the following order: brown sugar, Tullamore D.E.W. and hot coffee. Then mix all the ingredients generously to dissolve the sugar.
5. Top with the fluffy cream over a spoon to get a nice layer on top.
6. Skip the straw and experience the harmony of the meeting between the hot coffee blend and the cool cream.
Iced Irish Coffee – For those who want to try something new
You need:
- 2 delar Tullamore D.E.W.
- 4 parts cold brew coffee
- 1 part cane sugar
- 2 parts whipped cream
- Ground nutmeg and ice to garnish with
This is how you do it:
1. Pour the Tullamore D.E.W., cold brew coffee and Demerara sugar into highball glasses.
2. Shake the whipped cream in a shaker until it thickens (think melted ice cream), then gently top your drink with the cream over a spoon.
3. Garnish with ground nutmeg and drop in a few pieces of ice. Skip the straw and enjoy!
Vegan Irish Coffee – A hot and vegan classic
You need:
- 4 cl Tullamore D.E.W.
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 10-12 cl hot coffee
- 2-3 cl Oatly iMat Visp
- Hot water to warm the glass
This is how you do it:
1. Temporarily fill your Irish Coffee glass with boiling water so that the glass warms up properly before you start.
2. Whip the cream with an electric whisk to the consistency of melted ice cream.
3. Fill the now empty and warm glass with the brown sugar, Tullamore D.E.W. and hot coffee. Stir the glass to mix the ingredients.
4. Top the glass with the oat-based whipped cream using the back of a spoon to make it settle nicely on top.
5. Ignore the straw and enjoy the meeting between the hot mixture and the cool cream.
