Irish Coffee: To Baileys or Not to Baileys?

It’s starting to get a little chilly outside. Pumpkin spice season is winding down. Holiday shoppers are out in force. And here in Florida, Christmas lights are starting to appear in the palm trees.

unnamed-4Winter is coming, and with winter comes Irish Coffee.

Legend has it that, back in the 1940s, an Irish chef created the drink while entertaining stranded travelers on a cold winter night, sneaking whiskey into the coffee to warm his guests. When asked if the coffee was Brazilian or Colombian or wherever, the chef answered, “Um… it’s Irish.” As with most cocktail creation myths, the origins are likely more complicated, but this story reminds us of the drink’s key feature: temperature. The interplay of hot and cold layers plays a very important role in the drink, as shown in the recipe:

Traditional Irish Coffee
> Pour 4 oz coffee over a teaspoon of sugar (most recipes call for brown).
> Add 1 oz whiskey (personal  preference: Tullamore Dew) and stir.
> Top with 2 oz heavy cream (lightly whipped) and serve in a warmed mug.

Remember that it’s better not to stir in the cream; half the experience is letting the hot coffee pass through the cold cream as you drink it. That’s some tasty thermodynamics!

BUT WAIT! I hear you saying, WHAT ABOUT THE BAILEYS?
baileysBelieve it or not, across my whole shelf of cocktail manuals, I haven’t found one that calls for Baileys in Irish Coffee. I’m not sure when Baileys (introduced in 1974) became such a standard for the drink, but it’s arguably the most popular and certainly the easiest. Baileys replaces three of the four ingredients, leaving the recipe as…

4-6 oz coffee
2 oz Baileys

The Baileys website offers some other variants of the recipe, one of which even calls for Baileys and whiskey, so you’re going to need a bigger mug. You might also consider using…

Bourbon Whipped Cream– I love bourbon whipped cream, and it gives this recipe an extra bite. It’s outstanding on the traditional coffee, but when added to the Baileys variant, it’s practically a dessert.

Various Liqueurs– In my research, I also found versions calling for an ounce of Kahlua, an ounce of Frangelico, or a teaspoon of green creme de menthe. While Frangelico, Kahlua, and Baileys can play similar roles in recipes like this, I have to raise a red flag on the creme de menthe. Creme de menthe is very overpowering stuff, and unless you really love the taste of toothpaste, I wouldn’t recommend more than a teaspoon. Personally, when I want a cool minty flavor in a drink, I reach for the peppermint schnapps and leave the creme de menthe on the shelf, but that’s a topic for another post.

unnamed-3Different Coffee Roasts
– I almost always recommend a medium roast, mainly because I don’t like the taste of burnt coffee. Remember, there’s no real correlation between darkness of roast and caffeine content, so this is entirely an issue of flavor preference. Besides, Irish Coffee isn’t really a “staying awake” kind of drink anyway. When trying different roasts, stay attentive to the balance between bitter and sweet and adjust your sugar level accordingly.

Whether you decide Baileys or no Baileys, Irish coffee is a great drink for a cold evening. There are as many variations as there are types of coffee, so start a pot brewing and enjoy this drink somewhere warm.

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