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Coffee cocktail

Irish coffee

Hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and softly whipped cream.

Hot coffeeIrish whiskeyBrown sugarCream

Where it came from

Foynes, Ireland

1943

Chef Joe Sheridan served coffee with whiskey, sugar and cream to cold travellers at Foynes airbase. Journalist Stanton Delaplane later helped bring it to San Francisco.

Make it at home

Starting recipe

You'll need

Hot coffee
120 g
Irish whiskey
40 ml
Brown sugar
1–2 tsp
Cream
float
  1. 01

    Warm glass

    Warm a heat-safe glass with hot water, then discard it.

  2. 02

    Build

    Stir hot coffee, whiskey and brown sugar until dissolved.

  3. 03

    Float cream

    Pour lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon so it sits on top.

At a café

This contains alcohol; it belongs in the occasional treat category.