Traditional Irish Coffee
Master the perfect Irish Coffee! This 4-ingredient recipe blends bold coffee, smooth whiskey, and luscious whipped cream topping.
What is Irish Coffee?
Traditional Irish Coffee is a classic cocktail made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and topped with lightly whipped cream. Like our Spiked Eggnog, this cocktail is warm and comforting on a cold day.
Serve it with: warm Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Classic Madeleine Cookies for dunking, or Coffee Crumb Cake.
The original Irish Coffee was created by Joe Sheridan, a chef at Foynes Air base near Limerick, Ireland in 1943. One evening, a flight had to turn back to Foynes midway through its journey, and Joe created a coffee and whiskey cocktail to warm up the cold and weary passengers. It became legendary, and was brought to the U.S. by a travel writer who persuaded a bartender at the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco to recreate it.
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Ingredients
- Irish whiskey: we use Kilbeggan® Irish Whiskey
- Brown sugar syrup (make this by adding 2 parts sugar to 1 part water)
- Dark roast coffee: we recommend brewing coffee in a French press for dark roast flavor.
- Heavy cream: whipped heavy cream (whipping cream)
- grated chocolate, nutmeg, and/or cinnamon (for topping)
*see recipe card for quantities.
🔪Top tip
Piping hot, freshly brewed coffee is a must for this drink. For best results, use a strong, freshly brewed dark roast coffee. We make ours in a French press.
Instructions
- Rinse coffee mug with hot water
- Add brown sugar syrup and whiskey
- Fill mug with freshly brewed coffee
- Lightly whip heavy cream and pour gently into mug.
- Garnish with grated chocolate, nutmeg (or your topping of choice)
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Variations
- Bailey's Irish Coffee: add a splash of Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur for more creamy, caramel flavor
- Iced Irish Coffee: use cold brew coffee + some ice cubes for refreshing flavor
- Non-Alcholic Irish Coffee: substitute Irish whiskey with an alcohol-free whiskey alternative or flavored syrup.
- Decaf Irish Coffee: use your favorite decaf coffee for an after dinner coffee drink
🍹More cocktail recipes
Irish coffee toppings
- Ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg
- Shaved chocolate: we like good dark chocolate
- Orange zest
- Caramel syrup
- Raw sugar cubes or sugar sprinkles
This post is sponsored by our friends at Kilbeggan. All opinions are our own.
FAQ
Irish Coffee is a classic cocktail made with hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and topped with lightly whipped cream.
The best whiskey for Irish Coffee is a smooth Irish whiskey. We like Kilbeggan Traditional Irish Whiskey because of its meticulous blend of the finest malted barley and corn. Its sweet caramel and vanilla flavor blend perfectly with dark roast coffee and fresh whipped cream.
Yes, but for the best flavor, use a strong, freshly brewed coffee like a medium or dark roast. The coffee should be strong enough to stand up to the other ingredients without overpowering them.
Lightly whip the cream so it's thick but pourable, then slowly pour it over the back of a spoon to float it on top.
Yes! For a non-alcoholic version, substitute Irish whiskey with an alcohol-free whiskey alternative or flavored syrup.
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Irish Coffee recipe
Master the perfect Irish coffee! This 4-ingredient recipe blends bold coffee, smooth whiskey, and a luscious whipped cream topping.
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ½ parts Kilbeggan® Irish Whiskey
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
- 3 parts dark roast coffee
- ½ cup heavy cream
- grated chocolate, nutmeg and/or cinnamon
Instructions
- Rinse coffee mug with hot water.
- Add brown sugar syrup
- Add whiskey
- Fill mug with coffee
- Lightly whip heavy cream and pour gently into mug.
- Garnish with grated chocolate, nutmeg (or your topping of choice)
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: n/a
- Category: drinks and cocktails
- Method: n/a
- Cuisine: Irish
The pictures are amazing!!!!! Looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing
thanks so much Ken. We love this coffee drink and are glad you do too.
This recipe is my absolute favorite for authentic Irish Coffee. It's so easy to make and so satisfying. I especially love the shaved chocolate on top.