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It doesn’t have to be St. Patrick’s Day to indulge in a warm, boozy Irish coffee! This recipe is as authentic as it gets, with freshly brewed coffee blended with a splash of whiskey and topped with cream. Sweeten it up with sugar, or don’t. Either way, it’s sure to warm you from head to toe!
Irish coffee is the perfect warming treat or after-dinner coffee cocktail. For another boozy hot drink, try my spiked hot chocolate made in the crockpot and this easy Mexican coffee.
Top o’ the morning, friends! Or should I say evening, since that’s the perfect time of day for this deliciously creamy, whiskey-spiked Irish coffee. I first sipped an Irish coffee in a hole-in-the-wall pub in Chicago. It was cozy and boozy with the PERFECT layer of frothy cream on top. The bartender was kind enough to show me his trick: adding the cream by pouring it over an upside-down spoon. Game-changer! I’ve been making Irish coffee this way ever since.
What Makes This Coffee the Best
- Made your way. I’ve had Irish coffees in restaurants that are cloyingly sweet, rich, and filled with flavorings. That’s why I love making mine at home! It’s super simple and I make my Irish coffee exactly how I like it.
- Simple. Irish coffee couldn’t be easier to make. There are just 4 ingredients and you likely have them in the house already.
- Cozy. I love the mellow warmth of the whiskey blended with fresh hot coffee, and a touch of cream on top ties it all together. It’s the perfect drink for a cold day, and I’ll make these in the warmer months, too, as a nightcap when we have dinner with friends.
Why Is It Called Irish Coffee?
As with most things Irish, there’s a bit of a legend behind Irish coffee. The story goes that it was a cold, stormy night on the coast of Ireland in 1942. After making an emergency landing, a passenger plane disembarked in Foynes, where a chef named Joe Sheridan prepared coffees mixed with sugar and whiskey to warm up the stranded passengers. Sipping for the first time, one of the passengers asked “Is this Brazillian coffee?” To which Sheridan replied, “No, that’s Irish coffee!” And the rest is history!
What You’ll Need
Along with his handy spoon trick, my bartender friend shared that authentic Irish coffee needs just four ingredients: very black coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar, and cream. Keep it simple, sunshine! Below are some quick notes. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable ingredients with the amounts.
- Brewed Coffee – Choose your favorite blend and brew it fresh. You can also make an Americano with espresso roast topped up with hot water if you’d like.
- Sugar – I can’t resist sweetening up my coffee a little, so I add sugar. Feel free to skip it or use your choice of sweetener instead.
- Irish Whiskey – It doesn’t have to be fancy, but make sure it’s a whiskey you’d like to drink as the flavors will stand out. McConnell’s and Jameson are popular Irish brands. Of course, if you don’t have Irish whiskey, Scotch or Bourbon will do. I won’t tell.
- Heavy Cream – For whipping. Whole milk won’t work here unless you have a milk frother.
How to Make Irish Coffee
Irish coffee is so popular, they even have glassware specifically for it! An Irish coffee mug is a tall glass with a handle like the one pictured. But, really, any mug will do. Before I make my drink, I like to “preheat” the mug with hot water. Then, follow these steps.
- Spike the coffee. If you’ve warmed up the mug, dump out the hot water. Fill the mug with brewed coffee. Stir in the sugar to taste, then a splash of whiskey.
- Whip the cream. In a bowl, beat heavy cream until it’s just frothy and still pourable.
- Finish and serve. Now, for the spoon trick! Hold a spoon upside down over the mug and pour over the cream. The cream should float on top of the coffee. Magic!
Recipe Tip
If you don’t drink coffee black, feel free to stir in a splash of milk when adding the sugar, to lighten it up. You could also go half and half with whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream for a creamier drink.
Serving Suggestions
Nothing warms the cockles on St. Patty’s Day like a cozy Irish coffee topped with whipped cream. It’s the perfect follow-up or lead-in to our annual corned beef and cabbage. But I’ll make Irish coffee year-round to have after dinner, or as a way to warm up on a chilly afternoon.
It’s delicious after a meal of Guinness beef stew or a Dublin coddle with skillet bread on the side. It’s also one of my favorite after-dinner cocktails to wash down a slice of flourless chocolate cake, or I’ll have it with biscotti for dunking.
Can I Store Leftovers?
This Irish coffee is best served right away. Leftovers aren’t great reheated! Lucky for us, Irish coffee is so simple to make that it’s easy to brew fresh each time.
More Coffee Drinks to Try
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Irish Coffee
Ingredients
- hot water, for heating the mug
- 6 ounces brewed black coffee
- 2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Warm up the mug. Fill a mug with hot water and let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix the coffee. Empty the water from the mug. Add brewed coffee and stir in the sugar and whiskey.
- Whip the cream. Place heavy cream in a mixing bowl and whisk until frothy, but pourable. You can also use an electric mixer.
- Top and serve. Hold a spoon upside down over the mug and slowly pour the cream over the spoon, allowing the cream to float on top of the coffee. Serve.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Hey Katerina,
You have definitely nailed the perfect and original Irish coffee recipe. You have all of the key elements that make it IRISH – the strong brewed dark coffee, the REAL Irish whiskey (BEST type IMO), and the floating whipped cream on top!
YUM!
Cheers
Mark
This is still the best recipe for Irish coffee out there!
Thanks for making my winters a lot easier.
Love it! I will try do it 🙂
It may not be winter but some pubs blast their air conditioners enough to make it feel like an internal blizzard! So hot coffee is still a go at these places despite the skin-melting weather.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe along with how to keep the cream afloat! Authentic Irish whiskey is certainly expected and interestingly, there is another option some pubs offer which is the use Bailey’s Irish Cream instead of Irish Whiskey. Tastes fantastic either way.
This recipe looks awesome! Irish Coffees tend to have a bad reputation because it can be quite tricky to perfectly balance the all the blends of flavour. You have the nutty and slightly bitter taste of coffee with the caramel flavour and fiery whiskey that needs to contrast the cool layer of whipped cream on top. It’s not easy and you can often end up being too bitter and too fiery and not enough caramelly-creamy!
This post really nails the original Irish coffee recipe. There are thousands of similar recipes online, but lots of them fail to mention:
Strong dark coffee
REAL Irish whiskey
Floating cream
mmm, just talking about it is making me want one right now, I wonder if 10am is too early? 🙂
Happy belated b’day Kate. I hope those presents came flooding in.
It has been extremely warm Down Under in Oz, however I could certainly down this Irish coffee right now.
It’s a balmy 2 F today. I need this, ASAP! :p
With temperatures like that I would definitely be drinking several cups of these coffees! YUM! Speaking of cups, I recognize those cups. Is that a sign that I should make this coffee? First I need some real Irish whiskey and heavy cream. Do it right or not at all. 🙂
Drunk = warm = awesome.
This is gorgeous. I’ll have 4, please.
Annnnd it’s Monday so Happiest Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!