A warm and inviting drink , based on hot coffee sweetened and corrected all served in a heated glass and topped with a cloud of whipped cream on the surface. Let's talk about Irish coffee , the famous Irish drink , symbol of the island's food and wine tradition. Born in 1943 in Shannon Foynes Port , a very important port in County Limerick , he had an incredible success, becoming the king of Irish pubs. Here is all about the history of Irish coffee , its original recipe and the many variations spread around the world.
Where Irish coffee is born
The ports have always been places of intense exchanges , not only economic but also relational, cultural and gastronomic. Without the ports we would not have had most of the ingredients we use today in the kitchen: from spices to tomatoes, through potatoes, just to name a few. Also in this story there is a protagonist port: it is the Shannon Foynes Port , the second largest port in Ireland. It is here that in 1943 the port chef, Joes Sheridan, develops the Irish coffee formula. In the Irish town of Foynes, in fact, which hosts the port but is also close to the airport, passengers returning from transatlantic crossings come to rest, asking for something warm and "strong": they often have to stop for the night, due to the bad weather, and eat at the local tavern. And it is the recipe of this dark and intense drink that pleases them and the dockers, during their travel stops or during work breaks, together with classic and invigorating Irish dishes.
But why this name that identifies an entire nation? Traditional stories tell that, once the Irish coffee was served for the first time, all the diners were literally speechless because of the goodness of the drink; until one of them dared to ask: "Is it Brazilian coffee?". The chef, of course, proudly replied: "No, it's Irish coffee."
After a few years of exclusive domestic consumption, Irish coffee crosses European borders to land in the States , where it has an incredible success: this fame owes it to a travel writer and journalist of the San Francisco Chronicle, Santon Deleplane , who tells the recipe to a bartender at the famous Buena Vista Hotel in San Francisco, Jack Koeppler. Today this drink is a true symbol of the nation, and is a must in Irish pubs: the perfect drink for the day of St. Patrick , the patron saint of the island, which is celebrated on March 17.
The original recipe and variants of Irish coffee
Of course, the original recipe has very specific ingredients and steps: to prepare the drink at home you need 4 cl of Irish whiskey, 9 cl of hot coffee, 3 cl of fresh cream and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.
But Irish coffee also boasts variants, some of which mimic the drink a little, such as the cold cocktail with coffee and whiskey prepared in many Asian countries, which is sold under the name of Irish coffee; or the Spanish Irish Café , usually served with a layer of whiskey on the bottom, a layer of coffee in the center and a layer of cream on the top of the glass.
There are also some noteworthy variants , which substitute some ingredients for the original recipe: one of these is French coffee , which includes Cognac or Calvados instead of whiskey, and American coffee , in which bourbon or bourbon is used instead. again, Highland coffee, in which whiskey is replaced with scotch.