Recipes· 1 min read
Irish Coffee
Hot coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar, and a float of cream — the classic warming Irish coffee.
House Blend Cafe· 2026-08-20
We're a seasonal shop, open Saturdays only.
You'll find us at the counter on Saturdays, from just after Labor Day through the Saturday before Christmas, 10 AM to 2 PM. The rest of the year we're closed. Order ahead and we'll have it waiting, or see hours and location.
Irish coffee was invented in the 1940s at Foynes airport in Ireland to warm up cold transatlantic passengers, and it's been a bar staple ever since. It's hot coffee spiked with Irish whiskey and brown sugar, finished with a float of lightly whipped cream that you sip the coffee through. The trick is the cream — it has to be just thick enough to float, not whipped stiff.
Ingredients
- 6 oz hot, strong coffee
- 1.5 oz Irish whiskey
- 1 tsp brown sugar (or to taste)
- 2 oz heavy cream, lightly whipped
Step-by-step
- Warm a heatproof glass or mug with hot water, then empty it.
- Add the brown sugar and whiskey to the warm glass.
- Pour in the hot coffee and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Lightly whip the cream — it should still pour slowly, not hold peaks.
- Slowly pour the cream over the back of a spoon so it floats on top of the coffee.
- Serve without stirring; drink the coffee through the cream.
Tips for the best cup
- Use a rich, strong coffee that can stand up to the whiskey; a medium-dark roast works well.
- The cream should be lightly whipped — thick enough to float, thin enough to sip through.
- Brown sugar adds molasses depth that white sugar lacks.
Key takeaways
- Irish coffee is hot coffee, whiskey, and brown sugar, topped with floating cream.
- Lightly whip the cream so it floats but stays sippable.
- Pour the cream over a spoon to keep the layers separate.
#irish coffee#whiskey#cocktail#hot drinks#dessert
