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Irish Coffee
One passenger asked if the coffee was Brazilian. "No," the chef said, "that's Irish coffee" — and the drink had its name before it even had a recipe card.
On a freezing night in 1943, a flight to New York turned back over the Atlantic, dumping its American passengers back at a tiny Irish airbase. Chef Joe Sheridan spiked their coffee with whiskey and sugar to warm them up, then floated cream on top. One passenger asked if it was Brazilian. "No," Sheridan said, "that's Irish coffee" — and just like that, the drink had a name.
The technique still matters: warm the glass, dissolve sugar in hot coffee, add whiskey, then pour cream over the back of a spoon so it floats instead of blending. Cold, rich cream sits over hot, bittersweet coffee — a cocktail masquerading as a coffee. San Francisco's Buena Vista Café has poured it the same way, assembly-line style, since 1952 — over 65 million glasses served, recipe unchanged.
Origin & History
Irish coffee was invented in 1943 by Joe Sheridan, a chef at Foynes airbase (now Shannon Airport) in Ireland. On a cold winter night, he added whiskey to the coffee of American passengers whose flight had turned back due to weather. When one passenger asked if the coffee was Brazilian, Sheridan reportedly replied, "No, that's Irish coffee." The drink was later introduced to the US by travel writer Stanton Delaplane, who brought the recipe to the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco.
Fun Fact
The Buena Vista Café in San Francisco is said to have served over 65 million Irish coffees since 1952. They make them assembly-line style — rows of glasses, all being filled simultaneously. The café considers it a point of pride to maintain the same recipe and technique since its introduction.
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