Irish Coffee

A classic Irish coffee consists of hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar, with double cream, whipped until it begins to stiffen, floated on top.

The older Irish coffee, or so the lore would have it, was invented at Foynes by Mr. Joseph Sheridan, the head chef there. (Foynes was the precursor to Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland). The coffee was conceived as a warmer for trans-Atlantic travelers in the 1940s.

Stanton Delaplane, travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle claimed to have brought Irish coffee to the U.S. when he convinced the Buena Vista bar in San Francisco to start serving Irish coffee on November 10, 1952. Since then, the Buena Vista has become famous for its Irish coffee.

Different variants of the beverage have evolved over the years, such as Kentucky coffee, substituting Bourbon whiskey for the Irish whiskey. Another variation is to add a shot of Baileys Irish Cream to a cup of black coffee.
THE IRISH COFFEE STORY