Photo by Lara Hata

The food world is always updating classic dishes and drinks, adding new twists to make them more contemporary, but some recipes are best left untouched. That’s the way I feel about my recipe for Irish coffee, given to me more than two decades ago by a teacher friend whose specialty was Irish literature. I’ve included the directions for this special brew in my first book, Betty Rosbottom’s Cooking School Cookbook, and in the more recent Coffee, and it’s been featured on this blog previously.

Irish coffee has an interesting history that starts in Ireland and finishes on the west coast of the U.S. As the story goes, the drink was created in the Shannon airport in the mid-twentieth century where it was a restorative offering served to weary passengers. The recipe arrived in the States with a San Franciscan who shared it with his hometown’s Buena Vista Bar. The rest is history. The hot, strong coffee infused with Irish whiskey became the signature drink of that California bar, and eventually its popularity spread around the globe.

I’m sharing my simple recipe once again, and hope that, Irish or not, you’ll enjoy toasting Saint Patrick’s Day with a cup of steaming coffee scented with Irish whiskey, and capped with a floating cloud of whipped cream.

Irish Coffee
1/4 cup good quality Irish whiskey (Jameson’s works well.)
8 teaspoons sugar
1 1/3 cups or more brewed hot coffee, preferably strong, dark French roast
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream, whipped softly

1. Place 1 tablespoon of whiskey and 2 teaspoons of sugar in each of four 8-ounce glasses or cups. Stir with a spoon until sugar dissolves. Pour enough hot coffee into each glass or cup to fill it about 3/4 full.

2. Hold a tablespoon (with the back of the spoon facing you) over the coffee in one cup, and ladle 2 to 3 tablespoons of the whipped cream over the spoon so that it gently falls into the coffee. Adding the cream this way will help it float on top of the coffee instead of sinking immediately to the bottom. Repeat with the 3 other servings. Serve immediately. Serves 4 Adapted from Coffee by Betty Rosbottom (Chronicle Books 2006)