Irish Coffee

Irish Coffee is a hot cocktail of brewed coffee and Irish whiskey, sweetened and finished with a float of lightly whipped cream that the drinker sips through. It is built, not shaken — hot coffee and sugar stirred together with whiskey, then cool cream poured gently over the back of a spoon so it rests in a pale, distinct layer on the dark drink. Served in a warmed stemmed glass, it is rich, warming and bittersweet: hot, fragrant coffee and the spirit's grain warmth meeting cold cream. It was devised in 1940s Ireland and carried to the United States in the 1950s, and is now a recognised modern classic.