On my recent trip to San Francisco, I fell in love with Irish Coffees. The combination of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and cream is a perfect match for the cool breezy climate of the city. The Buena Vista Cafe, in San Francisco’s Marina District, is supposedly the birthplace of the Irish Coffee in the United States. I’m not sure if that’s true, but the place is quite the tourist attraction now, and they make thousands of Irish coffees a day.
The recipe is actually pretty easy. Here are the basic ingredients: Hot coffee, a sugar cube, Irish whiskey and heavy cream. It’s great if you have the right glass as well. I use the same classic glass that they have at Buena Vista.
The first step is to heat the glass. So, boil some water and fill up the glass and just let it sit until you’re ready to make your drink.
Then, you simply empty the glass, add a sugar cube and fill with 4 ounces of hot coffee.
You’ll top that off with 1 1/2 ounces of Irish whiskey. Stir to dissolve the sugar and blend everything.
The next step is to froth a bit of heavy cream. I use my milkshake maker and just froth it for a few seconds. You want a heavier cream, not whipped cream. So, be careful not to over whip it. If you don’t have a milkshake maker, simply use a whisk and whisk it until it reaches a thick frothy consistency.
Using the back of a spoon, gently pour the cream over the coffee to the rim of the glass.
And, enjoy!
Irish Coffee
for a 6 oz Irish Whiskey Glass
Ingredients
4 oz Hot Coffee
1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey
1 Sugar Cube
Heavy Cream
Method
Boil water and pour into your glass to heat it up. Discard hot water.
Add a sugar cube to the empty glass and top with 4 ounces of hot coffee. Add 1 1/2 ounces of Irish Whiskey and stir to combine.
Place about 1/2 cup of cream in a milkshake maker and forth for only 2-3 seconds until cream is thicker and heavier but not whipped. Using the back of a spoon gently pour the cream over the coffee until you reach the rim. Enjoy!