Irish Coffee

By Patrick Farrell

Updated Feb. 25, 2025

Irish Coffee
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(138)
Comments
Read comments

For a holiday that has come to involve so much alcohol, St. Patrick’s Day is badly in need of a good drink. Beer, even tinted green, is too workaday. Stout is too stolid. Sweet liqueurs like Irish Mist and Baileys Irish Cream are just too everything. But Irish coffee is worth toasting: the boggy funk of whiskey rising through an equatorial brew to meet a cool cloud of whipped cream.

Featured in: Irish Coffee, American Ingenuity

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:1 drink
  • 4ounces (½ cup) heavy cream, cold
  • 1teaspoon sugar
  • Vanilla extract, if desired
  • 1½ounces (3 tablespoons) Irish whiskey
  • 6ounces (¾ cup) hot, fresh coffee
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

513 calories; 41 grams fat; 26 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 34 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whip the heavy cream. Add ½ teaspoon sugar and a dash of vanilla, if desired, just before the cream starts to form soft peaks. Whip until firm.

  2. Step 2

    Pour the remaining ½ teaspoon sugar into a tall ceramic or glass mug.

  3. Step 3

    Add the whiskey, then pour in the coffee to about an inch below the brim.

  4. Step 4

    Apply a generous dollop of whipped cream to the top.

Tip
  • Adapted from James F. Farrell

Ratings

4 out of 5
138 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Martha

Oh no! Never top Irish coffee with whipped cream! Whisk heavy cream until a bit thickened, similar to creme chantilly. Then pour it gently down the back of a spoon onto the coffee so it floats on top.
The whole point is to have the coffee and the cream mingle together as one sips. Compare the two and you'll see what I mean.

Chandrashekhar

You are absolutely right. The bartenders in Dublin and Cork are thinking what monstrosity is being described here in the guise of "their" coffee!
Irish coffee is served in a transparent mug. It should ideally look like freshly poured Guiness...mmmm

Taylor

I learned to make an Irish coffee at the Flying Boat museum in Limerick, where the drink was originally invented, and this is ALL WRONG. You should pour your whiskey (they insisted Powers was the only way to go) and dissolve a teaspoon of brown sugar into it. Pour hot, fresh coffee over that. As others have stated, the cream should NOT be whipped -- just thickened enough that it'll float on the coffee when poured over the back of a spoon. Savor, drinking the coffee through the cream.

Tyger

I don’t whip the cream either, and Bushmills is fine, use whatever is your favorite Irish Whiskey.

Suzannetld

I make it with brown sugar, whiskey , coffee then the whip cream, drizzle Irish mist over it and sprinkle brown sugar . At times, I add Irish mist to the whipping cream!! Slainte !

sharon

This may seem odd but the secret ingredient for my Irish coffee is instant coffee, either decaf or caffeinated. It’s consistent, doesn’t have a burnt or harsh flavor of some gourmet coffees and it’s very convenient. I also agree with other commenters on using the back of a spoon with a light cream.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.