Irish Coffee

In the 1950s, a sweetened coffee drink, spiked with Irish whiskey and topped with cream, was served in a lounge at Shannon Airport, Ireland. Impressed by this drink during a visit to Ireland, San Francisco Chronicle writer Stanton Delaplane worked with the owners of the Buena Vista Cafe in SF to reproduce and perfect the technique of making this drink. This was accomplished in 1952. The fame of this beverage spread, and the cafe is now renowned for it. It's called the Irish Coffee.

We visited the Buena Vista Cafe yesterday, and I ordered one. Absolutely wonderful! You don't stir it; you just drink it through the cream, and there's a great feeling of contrast between the heat of the coffee and the cold of the cream.



Recipe:

Fill hot Irish Coffee mug 3/4 full with coffee.
Add 2 sugar cubes and stir until they are dissolved.
Add 1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey (Buena Vista Cafe uses Tullamore Dew).
Top with lightly whipped whipping cream, poured gently over a spoon.

A cable car passes in front of the Buena Vista Cafe