Recipe Tuesday – Original Irish Coffee

A Warming Treat

The place is Foynes, Ireland. The time is July 1943. WWII is in full force and this tiny town near Limerick is the Center of the World if you’re flying from America. The weather was bad and after several hours of flying toward the US, one of the famous Flying Boats had to turn back to Foynes to wait it out. A Morse code message was sent to Foynes informing them of the aircraft’s return. Chef Joe Sheridan made a special coffee drink to warm up those who were stranded. He put a drop of whiskey in the coffee and fancied it up with cream on top. When he served it, he was asked “Joe, is this Brazilian coffee?” Joe thought for a second, smiled and said “No sir. That is Irish Coffee.” Thus an Irish tradition was born.

Here is the recipe for Foynes ORIGINAL Irish Coffee. It’s so much more than a splash of Irish whiskey in a cup of coffee. It’s a process. And this process makes one delicious cup of Irish Coffee exactly how it was meant to be. ENJOY!

Step One
In your Foynes Irish Coffee Glass, place a teaspoon and fill with boiling water for five seconds.

Step Two
In this pre-warmed glass, put one teaspoon of brown sugar and a good measure of Irish Whiskey.

Step Three
Fill the glass to within 1cm of the brim with really hot, strong black coffee. Stir well to melt all the sugar.

Step Four
Then carefully pour lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon so that it floats on top of the coffee.

Step Five
Do not stir after adding the cream, as the true flavour is obtained by drinking the hot coffee and Irish Whiskey through the cream.

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy, or as we say in Ireland,