Traditional Irish Coffee recipe

Name: Irish Coffee recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: PT-471128H13M
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 1 1/2 parts Kilbeggan® Irish Whiskey; 1 Tbsp brown sugar syrup (2:1 sugar to water); 3 parts dark roast coffee; 1/2 cup heavy cream; grated chocolate, nutmeg and/or cinnamon

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Make traditional Irish coffee with only 4 ingredients! Top it with fresh whipped cream & shaved chocolate for one comforting coffee cocktail.

2 Irish coffees topped with shaved chocolate & nutmeg

What is Irish Coffee?

Classic Irish Coffee is just coffee and whiskey, topped with whipped cream. Like our Spiked Eggnog, this cocktail is warm and comforting on a cold day.

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 eventually brought to the U.S. by a travel writer, Stanton Delaplane. Delaplane persuaded Jack Koeppler, a bartender at the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco to recreate it.

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What is Irish Coffee?
Ingredients
Instructions
What's the best whiskey for Irish Coffee?
Variations
Irish Coffee Toppings
FAQ
More cocktail recipes to try
Irish Coffee recipe
Related recipes

Ingredients

Irish Whiskey: we used Kilbeggan® Irish Whis k ey
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
grated chocolate, nutmeg, and/or cinnamon (for topping)

see recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Rinse coffee mug with hot water
Add brown sugar syrup
Add 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)

HINT: piping hot, freshly brewed coffee is a must for this drink.

hand stirring whipped cream into Irish coffee

What's the best whiskey for Irish Coffee?

Kilbeggan Traditional Irish Whiskey is the best for Irish Coffee 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. Slàinte!

Variations

Add Bailey's Irish Cream: 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
Decaf Irish Coffee: use your favorite decaf coffee for an after dinner coffee drink

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

2 Irish coffees in mugs topped with shaved chocolate and nutmeg

This post is sponsored by our friends at Kilbeggan. All opinions are our own.

FAQ

What is the best coffee to use?

We recommend a strong, dark roast or expresso roast coffee for optimum flavor.

What kind of cream should I use?

Fresh whipped, heavy cream (whipping cream) works best. We recommend creams with 35-38% milk fat, as they whip up and float perfectly on top of this cocktail.

How do I make brown sugar syrup?

Mix 2 parts brown sugar with 1 part water. Stir until dissolved.