Ingredients:

• 5-6 ounces strong hot coffee
• 1 1/2 ounces Irish Whiskey
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 ounce lightly whipped double cream or whipped cream

Steps:

1. Pre-warm your Irish coffee glass with hot water, then empty it when ready.
2. Add the brown sugar to the warmed glass, then add the whiskey.
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves into the whiskey.
4. Add the hot coffee and stir again.
5. Float the cream on top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Do not stir. Or, if you prefer, add a dollop of whipped cream

Variations

To make a Baileys Irish coffee, discard the brown sugar, add a shot of Jameson whiskey and a shot of Baileys to the glass, add the coffee. Top with whipped cream.

The History of Gaelic Coffee

Foynes Airbase

In 1935 a treaty between the US, Canada, Ireland and the UK required transatlantic flights to have a layover at an Irish airport. At the time, land-based planes didn’t have the sufficient oomph to make it across the Atlantic. So, transatlantic travel required the use of seaplanes. Foynes, on the west coast of Ireland, had both a sheltered harbor and a railway connecting it to the rest of Ireland, making it the perfect place to land these flying boats.

World War II

By the 1940s, Foynes Airbase became one of Europe’s biggest civilian airports and served as a refueling stop for the Pan Am flying boats between America and Europe. Despite Ireland being officially neutral during WWII, most passengers were Allied military and diplomatic personnel with the required clearance for transatlantic flights. Intrigue surrounded these passengers, as most dressed in civilian clothes and traveled under fake passports. Eventually, the charade was dropped and the wearing of military uniforms became common, leading the Irish to ask, “who’re we neutral against?”

The Weather Incident

As one of the largest airports at the time, Foynes received a whole host of military, political and Hollywood figures. Some of the outsized characters to pass through Foynes included Hemingway, JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bob Hope and Humphrey Bogart.

The airport was mainly used for layovers, but due to Ireland’s notorious rainy weather,  passengers would frequently have to spend the night. To cater to these stranded travelers, a new restaurant was created.

Legend has it that on a stormy winter night in 1943, a flight departed Foynes for New York but had to return due to bad weather. The passengers returned to the airport’s restaurant, cold and miserable. To warm the passengers, Chef Joe Sheridan decided to whip up something special for the Yanks by adding whiskey and cream to their coffee. When asked if they were being served Brazilian coffee, he told them it was “Irish coffee.”

The San Francisco Connection

In 1952, the Irish Coffee was introduced to the States by the San Francisco Chronicle’s travel writer Stanton Delaplane. He brought it to the attention of his bartender, Jack Koeppler, at the Buena Vista Hotel in San Francisco. But when Koeppler tried to make it, the cream kept sinking into the drink. Delaplane, who had already written a number of columns about Gaelic coffee, flew to Foynes to meet the source of the drink, Chef Joe Sheridan, and the rest is history.

Or Is It?

While the legend of Foynes airbase is generally accepted as the origin story of Irish Coffee, some have argued that the drink was actually invented in the 1940’s at a pub called the Dolphin in Dublin. Also, it’s believed that the cream was added not to comfort passengers but to cover-up the bitter taste of the coffee that was rationed during World War II. There’s also evidence that Irish coffee made its way to New York several years before it arrived at the Buena Vista. Either way, the drink didn’t become a sensation until it arrived in San Francisco.

Today, Foynes airbase is closed, replaced by the nearby Shannon airport. What remains of the airport is known as the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum, and it still serves its famed Irish Coffee. If you’re ever in Ireland, go check it out. And check out the authentic recipe above.