Irish Coffee
An Irish Coffee is 50ml of Irish whiskey and a teaspoon of demerara sugar stirred into 120ml of hot filter coffee in a warmed glass, with 50ml of cream whipped to the texture of cold pouring custard and floated on top over the back of a warm spoon. Nothing goes on the cream, ever. About 2.0 UK units. It began at the Foynes flying-boat terminal on the Shannon estuary in the 1940s, usually dated to 1943, when the chef Joe Sheridan put Irish whiskey into coffee for passengers whose flight had turned back. In 1952 the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco took it up, and the drink crossed the Atlantic. It is drunk through the cream: hot, sweet coffee and whiskey under a cold layer, so every sip arrives warm and cool at once. The cream is dairy, so make it for milk drinkers only.
Glassware: Irish Coffee Mug
Garnish: Cream is the garnish: nothing on top, ever
Ingredients
50ml
A smooth blended Irish whiskey at 40% ABV. Hot, sweet coffee and cold cream flatten fine detail, so keep a more expensive bottle for sipping on the side.
120ml
Good filter coffee, hot and freshly made, strong enough to stand up to the whiskey. Its 120ml sets the length and holds the heat; espresso makes a shorter, different drink.
1 tsp
A level teaspoon, dissolved fully before the whiskey goes in. It makes the coffee dense enough to carry the cream. The IBA allows any sugar; demerara adds a light caramel note.
50ml
Fresh, cold double or whipping cream, whipped only to pouring-custard thickness and floated over a warm spoon. Aerosol cream collapses. Dairy, of course.
Instructions
Warm an Irish coffee mug with hot water, then tip the water out.
Add a teaspoon of demerara sugar and 120ml of hot filter coffee, and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the whiskey and stir once.
Whip the cream only until it thickens to the texture of cold pouring custard: it should still just pour.
Float the cream over the back of a warm spoon held at the coffee’s surface, filling the last centimetre of the glass.
Serve immediately, without a spoon and with nothing on top: the coffee is drunk through the cream.
Source: the IBA (Official IBA specification; demerara for the IBA’s sugar and the cream lightly whipped; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
The sugar is structural. A teaspoon of demerara dissolved into the coffee makes it dense enough to carry the cream. Leave it out and the float fails however well the cream is whipped, which is the usual way this drink goes wrong. Whip the cream only to the texture of cold pouring custard. It should still just pour off a spoon. Aerosol cream collapses into the coffee, and stiffly whipped cream sits on top like a pudding. Pour it over the back of a warm spoon held at the surface. A cold spoon thickens the cream on contact and a fast pour punches through it, and either way the layer is lost before it forms.
Behind the Irish Coffee
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
Foynes, on the Shannon estuary, was the Irish terminal for the transatlantic flying boats of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Joe Sheridan ran its kitchen, and the drink is credited to him, usually dated to a night in 1943 when a flight turned back in bad weather and he put Irish whiskey into the passengers’ coffee.
When the flying boats gave way to Shannon Airport, the drink went with the staff. In 1952 the travel writer Stanton Delaplane, who had drunk it at Shannon, helped the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco work out how to make it, and from there it spread across America.
The Cream
The float is a matter of density. Sugar makes the coffee heavier, lightly whipped cream is lighter, and the warm spoon spreads the cream across the surface instead of letting it plunge. Get all three right and the cream sits as a cold layer a centimetre deep.
Whiskey and Coffee
Coffee is the larger part of the glass, so it matters more than the whiskey. Use good filter coffee, hot and fresh. A smooth blend does the whiskey’s job, adding warmth and grain sweetness without fighting the roast.
The IBA and Ours
Irish Coffee: the IBA’s version beside ours
Irish whiskey
- IBA
- 50ml
- Ours
- 50ml, a smooth blend
Coffee
- IBA
- 120ml hot coffee
- Ours
- 120ml hot filter coffee
Sugar
- IBA
- At least a teaspoon, or sugar syrup
- Ours
- A teaspoon of demerara
Cream
- IBA
- 50ml fresh cream, chilled, poured over a spoon
- Ours
- 50ml, whipped to pouring custard, floated over a warm spoon
Glass
- IBA
- Preheated Irish coffee glass
- Ours
- Warmed Irish coffee mug
Garnish
- IBA
- None
- Ours
- None, ever
| Element | IBA | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Irish whiskey | 50ml | 50ml, a smooth blend |
| Coffee | 120ml hot coffee | 120ml hot filter coffee |
| Sugar | At least a teaspoon, or sugar syrup | A teaspoon of demerara |
| Cream | 50ml fresh cream, chilled, poured over a spoon | 50ml, whipped to pouring custard, floated over a warm spoon |
| Glass | Preheated Irish coffee glass | Warmed Irish coffee mug |
| Garnish | None | None, ever |
How to Serve It
In a warmed, heat-resistant glass on a short stem with a handle, filled to within a centimetre of the rim before the cream goes on. Serve it without a spoon or a straw and do not stir it: the drink is taken through the cream, hot and cold together.
For a hot whisky drink without coffee, make a Hot Toddy.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Whiskey (Irish)Irish whiskey is whiskey distilled on the island of Ireland and aged there in wood for three years or longer, and bottled at no less than 40% ABV. It comes in four legal types, pot still, malt, grain and blended, and the soft blends are what our nine Irish recipes mostly use. Triple distillation and the absence of peat are common habits, not legal requirements.
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
Why will my cream not float?
Which whiskey should I use for Irish Coffee?
Can I use espresso instead of filter coffee?
Who invented the Irish Coffee?
How strong is an Irish Coffee?
Should anything go on top of the cream?
Can I make an Irish Coffee without whiskey?
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026