Irish coffee is a coffee cocktail or coffee liquor made of black coffee, sugar and whiskey and topped with cream. Although the modern Irish coffee as we know it today was created sometime in the 20th century, likely in the 1940s, coffee cocktails were being served in Viennese coffee houses from the middle of the 19th century.
There are several people in history who claim to have invented the Irish coffee. No one unequivocally knows when the Irish coffee was invented but it is most likely that it was invented by Joe Sheridan in roughly 1942, who worked at the coffee shop in Foynes Airbase in county Limerick and claims he added whiskey to the coffees of some passengers.
For the preparation of an Irish coffee, hot coffee, whiskey and sugar are mixed together until the substances are completely dissolved. The cream is then trickled gently over the coffee using the back of a spoon, so that the cream sits on top of the beverage and doesn’t mix with it.
A standard Irish coffee has the measurements: 4 cl (two parts) Irish Whiskey, 8 cl (four parts) hot coffee, 3 cl (one and a half parts) fresh cream and one table spoon of brown sugar and is served in an Irish coffee glass, sometimes known as an Irish coffee mug.
It is equally acceptable for the coffee used to be an americano brewed from an espresso coffee maker or a filter coffee.
Variations of the Irish coffee include preparing the coffee cocktail with different spirits for example the Highland or Gaelic coffee, which is made using Scotch whisky, or the Russian coffee, which is made with vodka.
These days, other flavorings are often also added.