THERE ARE VERY few things more satisfying than having a traditional Irish coffee on a chilly Christmas day or evening.
A true Irish Coffee should be black with a smooth white head and a satisfying divide between the two layers, allowing you to drink through the cream.
The Journal can do a lot of things, from creating award-winning podcasts to being a constantly reliable source of news and information. But crafting cocktails is not our greatest strength and we’ll be the first to admit it.
Which is why we’ve teamed up with Tullamore D.E.W. and their wonderful brand ambassador Kevin Pigott to teach you how to craft a deliciously creamy Irish coffee at home.
The perfect Irish coffee has a delicate balance of four distinct flavours, warm and cool textures, all of which come together to form a velvety sipping experience. But while an Irish coffee is more straightforward than some other cocktails, it’s a very easy drink to get wrong according to Kevin.
“As odd as it sounds, the perfect ingredient to start with is the glass,” Kevin says. “If you use a huge glass you tend to get the proportions of the different ingredients wrong. Ideally we’re trying to get one part whiskey to three parts coffee. Don’t use a huge wine glass, don’t use a big mug. Try and find a smallish glass that’s around 180ml.”
The ideal holder of your Irish coffee is a Buena Vista or Georgian glass, which is basically a 180ml glass on a stem which opens up like a tulip, meaning you’re able to divide your ingredients into the correct proportions and also see the different layers of your drink.
“The first thing that really does make a difference and a lot of top bars in the world do it, is preheat the glass with some warm water,” Kevin says. “What often happens is people will throw in whiskey and start the process, then as the whiskey and the glass is cold, when you add the coffee it cools straight away and you can end up with a drink that is lukewarm by the time it gets to the guest.”
Next up, according to Kevin, is adding 30ml of Tullamore D.E.W. Original into the glass along with 90ml of coffee. If you own a fancy coffee machine, a medium roast from South America is a good option for your drink. But don’t fret if you don’t, Nescafé Azera also works well if you use two good heaped spoons.
The go-to sugar for an Irish coffee is demerara sugar (brown sugar) and if you’re feeling a little fancy, you can create your own sugar syrup by adding water and demerara sugar to a pot on some heat in a 1:1 ratio. Once combined, the syrup can be stored for up to six weeks for use in upcoming Irish coffees.
“You can add 10ml of that syrup to the whiskey and coffee in the glass, but you can also premix it with the coffee before adding to the glass, which is what we do in the Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery,” Kevin says.
Now we’re on the home stretch, three of the four ingredients are in glass and we’re already itching to warm our bones with our delicious Irish coffee. But there’s one important step left in the process which is vital to the aesthetic.
“Last, to keep it simple we use a lovely cream. In the distillery, I use the classic Tesco Irish cream. It doesn’t have to be the double cream – which will be thicker – but it’s not necessary.
“You need an empty jar, vat, protein shaker or a cocktail shaker and I’ll shake it for six to eight seconds. When you take off the lid you’ll see a thickening of the liquid. The ideal is a pouring level cream with a bit of thickness in it, so if it’s too thin just shake for another 6 to 8 seconds. And if it’s too thick, you can stir it or add an ice cube to bring it back to the right consistency.”
Then to float cream on the drink, pour it gently onto the coffee, over the back of a hot teaspoon at a 45-degree angle to make sure it sits on top.
The only thing left to do is enjoy your perfect Irish coffee!
Ingredients
Method
Follow both @tullamorekevin and @tullamoredew for more great recipes and tips.
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