Sprucing Up The Irish Coffee

Three Delicious Ways to Reconsider the Famed Cocktail

Irish Coffee is a cocktail of sweetened coffee, Irish whiskey, and thick whipped cream that is not only acceptable in Irish households, but also expected as a morning treat on holidays,  including on St. Patrick's Day.  Below are three recipes for how to spruce up the experience of the essential Irish coffee.

FORT DEFIANCE IRISH COFFEE (by St. John Frizell)

Created by St. John Frizell, owner of Fort Defiance in Brooklyn, New York's Red Hook neighborhood, this recipe named after the establishment has been dubbed by the New York Times as "the best in the known world." His secret?  “The key to a great Irish Coffee, besides quality ingredients, is keeping the hot part of the drink piping hot and the cold part very cold." And this little gem offers your lips a little hot with a little cold at first sip.  

Fort Defiance has sold more than 15,000 Irish Coffees since 2002. (image: Tim Nusog)

Ingredients

1 ½ oz  Powers Irish whiskey

1 oz       Simple syrup

1 shot    Counter Culture espresso

1 ½ oz   Heavy cream

Garnish: Grated cinnamon

Glass: Irish Coffee mug

Directions

1. Add the whiskey and simple syrup into a mixing tin.
2. Add a little boiling water to an Irish Coffee mug to heat it, and nestle the tin in the mug so that the tin heats as well.
3. Add the heavy cream to a separate mixing tin, and dry-shake (without ice) until the cream thickens.
4. Dump the water out of the mug, add the whiskey-sugar mixture, and fill with boiling water to about 1 inch below the rim.
5. Pour the espresso shot followed by the thickened cream on top, and grate cinnamon.

GRAN ROSTA COFFEE COCKTAIL

Ray Burns, the owner of Prohibition in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., says there's nothing wrong with drinking Irish coffee throughout the year, but it's especially good during the cooler months. What wakes this recipe special is the sprinkling of popcorn powder on top. 

Ingredients

Gran Rosta Coffee Cocktail (image: Tim Nusog)

1 oz       Teeling single-grain Irish whiskey

½ oz       Demerara simple syrup

4 oz       Brewed coffee

               Fresh whipped cream

Garnish: Popcorn powder

Glass: Irish Coffee mug

Directions

1. Add boiling water to an Irish Coffee mug, and let sit for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Pour out the water, and add the whiskey and simple syrup.
3. Fill the mug with good-quality coffee.
4. Top with a layer of freshly whipped cream.
5. Sprinkle with popcorn powder (buttered and salted popcorn ground into a powder).

CHARLESTON BREAKFAST COFFEE

Bartender Jerry Slater, the forthcoming owner of The Expat in Athens, Ga., and co-author of "The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails", created a much more grain-forward, slightly richer Southern version of the Irish Coffee. 

The Charleston Breakfast Coffee is Jerry Slater's Southern take on the Irish Coffee classic. (image: Tim Nusog)

Ingredients

2 oz       High Wire New Southern Revival sorghum whiskey

½ oz       Demerara simple syrup

8 oz       Brewed dark-roast coffee

1 cup     Heavy cream

Garnish: Whipped cream

Glass: Irish Coffee mug

Directions

1. Pour the whiskey and simple syrup into a coffee mug.
2. Top with the coffee, and stir to combine.
3. Place the heavy cream in a pint-size Mason jar, and seal tightly with the lid.
4. Shake the jar until the cream gets thick and pourable but not yet firm.
5. Pour the soft whipped cream on top to form a layer about 1/2-inch thick.

Source: Beth McKibben / Liquor.com