Irish Coffee
According to the legend, the first Irish Coffee was born in the southwestern port of Ireland, Foynes, in the early 1940’s. The café of the harbor was the first destination of the tired, frozen passengers arriving from the United States.
The store employee Joe Sheridan invented the drink, which warmed both the body and the soul of the passengers. When one of the “coffee expert” travelers asked about the served drink, “Is this Brazilian coffee?” Joe quickly responded, “no, this is Irish coffee”! So the new drink already obtained its new name. Since then, the International Airport of the region moved to Shannon, but the coffee bar was named after Sheridan, where is a memorial plaque on the wall honoring the inventor.
A well-made Irish coffee is reminiscent of the famous Irish beer in its glass, appearance, color, consistency of foam, alcohol content and flavor.It should be consumed without mixing -like the beer- and we should drink it through the foam.
Preparation
We fill the Irish coffee glass with whiskey, add the brown sugar and we gently heat it up with the steamer pipe of the coffee machine and melt the sugar. Meanwhile, we make long coffee with the french press machine or Americano from espresso or Doppio, if you like it stronger. If the coffee is ready, we can pour it in the whiskey. Make sure to leave space on top of the cup for the expanded whipped cream.
A foam with proper consistency may be prepared with electric mixer sticks, desktop mixer or a shaker from cold whipping cream. The foam must not be excessively hard, but it can neither remain too liquid. In the first case, we can only spoon the foam and this makes adequate consumption impossible. In the second case, if the foam is too soft, it may mix with the hot coffee while layering. The well-frothed cream can be easily layered on top of the drink from a beaked metal milk jug, carefully, with the help of a spoon.
Sipping the hot coffee through the cold cream foam, we will live through the Irish coffee experience. The Irish coffee should not be mixed, so it is always served up without a spoon.
