IBA official cocktail | |
---|---|
Type | Mixed drink |
Base spirit | |
Served | Hot |
Standard drinkware | Irish coffee mug |
IBA specified ingredients† |
|
Preparation | Pour the coffee into a preheated glass, add whiskey and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Pour cream slowly to form a distinct layer. |
† Irish Coffee recipe at International Bartenders Association |
Irish coffee (Irish : caife Gaelach) is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar, which has been stirred and topped with cream (sometimes cream liqueur). The coffee is drunk through the cream.
Different variations of coffee cocktails pre-date the now-classic Irish coffee by at least 100 years.
From the mid-19th century, the Pharisäer and the Fiaker were served in Viennese coffee houses; both were coffee cocktails served in glass, topped with whipped cream. The former was also known in northern Germany and Denmark around that time. Around 1900, the coffee cocktail menu in the Viennese cafés also included Kaisermelange, Maria Theresia, Biedermeier-Kaffee and a handful of other variations on the theme.[ citation needed ]
In 19th-century France, a mixture of coffee and spirits was called a gloria.
Several places claim to have developed the modern recipe in the 1950s. One version is attributed to a Joe Sheridan, head chef at the restaurant and coffee shop in the Foynes Airbase [1] [2] flying boat terminal (about 15 kilometres or 9.3 miles from present-day Shannon Airport, County Clare). [3] In 1942 or 1943, [4] [5] he added whiskey to the coffee of some disembarking passengers. [6] [3] [7]
Stanton Delaplane, a travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle , maintains he brought Irish coffee to the United States after drinking it at Shannon Airport. His version is that he worked with the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco to start serving it on November 10, 1952. [8] [9] [10] Sheridan later emigrated to work at the Buena Vista Cafe. [11]
Irish whiskey and at least one level teaspoon of sugar are poured over black coffee and stirred in until fully dissolved. [12] Thick cream is carefully poured over the back of a spoon initially held just above the surface of the coffee and gradually raised a little until the entire layer is floated. [13]
In 1988, the National Standards Authority of Ireland published Irish Standard I.S. 417: Irish Coffee. The standard has been cancelled at least as of 2020. [a]
Although whiskey, coffee and cream are the basic ingredients in all Irish coffee, there are variations in preparation: the choice of coffee and the methods used for brewing it differ significantly. The use of espresso machines or fully automatic coffee brewers is now typical: the coffee is either a caffè americano (espresso diluted with hot water) or some kind of filter coffee, often made using a coffee capsule.
The cream used in some bars to make what is sold as "Irish coffee" is sometimes sprayed from a can. Some bartenders gently shake fresh cream to achieve a smooth layer on top of the coffee.[ citation needed ]
In Spain, Irish coffee (café irlandés) is sometimes served with a bottom layer of whiskey, a separate coffee layer, and a layer of cream on top; [15] special devices are sold for making it.
Some bars in Southeast Asia serve a cocktail of iced coffee and whiskey, sometimes without cream, under the name "Irish coffee".
Many drinks of hot coffee with a distilled spirit, and cream floated on top—liqueur coffees—are given names derived from Irish coffee, although the names are not standardised. Irish cream coffee (also known as Baileys coffee) can be considered a variant of Irish coffee, but involves the use of Irish cream as a "pre-mixed" substitute for the whisky, cream and sugar. Jamaican coffee would be expected to be made with rum; Highland coffee, also called Gaelic coffee, with Scotch whisky; Russian coffee with vodka; [16] and Mexican coffee with tequila.
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred with ice then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.
The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey or sometimes brandy, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass.
Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur made of cream, cocoa and Irish Whiskey emulsified together with vegetable oil. Baileys is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Irish cream, invented by a team headed by Tom Jago in 1971 for Gilbeys of Ireland; Diageo currently owns the trademark. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% by volume.
A cream liqueur is a liqueur that includes dairy cream and a generally flavourful liquor among its ingredients.
Irish cream is a cream liqueur based on Irish whiskey, cream and other flavourings. It typically has an alcohol by volume (ABV) level of 15 to 20% and is served on its own or in mixed drinks, most commonly mixed with coffee or in shots such as the B-52. Its largest markets are the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
A liqueur coffee is a caffeinated alcoholic drink that consists of a shot of liqueur, mixed with coffee. It is typically served in a liqueur glass, often accompanied with cream and sugar. Coffee liqueur beverages are served in different fashions and can be found throughout many countries. One of the most popular liqueur coffee beverage is commonly known as Irish coffee. Liqueur coffee beverages are largely classified as cocktails as well as digestifs which are aimed at aiding the digestive process typically after a meal.
A layereddrink, sometimes called a pousse-café, is a kind of cocktail in which the slightly different densities of various liqueurs are used to create an array of colored layers, typically two to seven. The specific gravity of the liquid ingredients increases from top to bottom. Liqueurs with the most dissolved sugar and the least alcohol are densest and are put at the bottom. These include fruit juices and cream liqueurs. Those with the least water and the most alcohol, such as rum with 75% alcohol by volume, are floated on top.
A Baby Guinness is a shooter, a style of cocktail, or mixed alcoholic beverage, intended to be consumed in one shot. A Baby Guinness does not contain Guinness stout. Its name is derived from the fact that it is made in such a way as to look like a tiny glass of stout.
A shooter, or shot, is a small serving of spirits or a mixed drink, typically consumed quickly, often in a single gulp. It is common to serve a shooter as a side to a larger drink.
The B-52 cocktail is a layered shot composed of coffee liqueur (Kahlúa), Irish cream, and Grand Marnier. When prepared properly, the ingredients separate into three distinctly visible layers.
A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice and carbonated water. It typically includes gin or rum as its alcoholic ingredient.
Maple liqueur refers to various alcoholic products made from maple syrup, primarily in the Northeast United States and Canada. It is most commonly made by mixing Canadian rye whiskey and Canadian maple syrup. Maple liqueur is considered an important cultural beverage in certain Canadian festivals.
Fireball Cinnamon Whisky is a mixture of Canadian whisky, cinnamon flavoring and sweeteners that is produced by the Sazerac Company. Its foundation is Canadian whisky, and the taste otherwise resembles the candy with a similar name, Ferrara Candy Company's "Atomic Fireball" candy. It is bottled at 33% alcohol by volume.
The Buena Vista is a café in San Francisco, California, credited with introducing Irish coffee to the United States in 1952. The Buena Vista Café originally opened in 1916 when the first floor of a boardinghouse was converted into a saloon. The current owners also operate the Trident in Sausalito.
A whiskey cocktail is a cocktail that includes whiskey. Although whiskey is often served neat or on the rocks, it is used in many classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Julep. Some specifically call for Scotch whisky or bourbon whiskey.
Coole Swan Irish Cream Liqueur is an Irish cream produced from a blend of a single-malt Irish whiskey, Belgian white chocolate, and fresh cream. Its alcohol content is 16 percent by volume. Made in Ireland, Coole Swan has headquarters on the owners' family farm in County Meath and bottled is in Bailieborough, County Cavan.