Irish coffee

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Image:IrishCoffee.JPG A classic Irish coffee consists of hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar, with double cream floated on top. Irish coffee can be considered to be a variation on the hot toddy.

The older Irish coffee, or so the lore would have it, was invented at Foynes by Mr. Joseph Sheridan, the head chef there. (Foynes was the precursor to Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland). The coffee was conceived as a warmer for trans-Atlantic travelers in the 1940s.

Stanton Delaplane, travel writer for the San Francisco Chronicle claimed to have brought Irish coffee to the U.S. when he convinced the Buena Vista bar in San Francisco to start serving Irish coffee on November 10, 1952. Since then, the Buena Vista has become famous for its Irish coffee. [1]

Different variants of the beverage have evolved over the years, such as Kentucky coffee, substituting Bourbon whiskey for the Irish whiskey. Another variation is to add a shot of Baileys Irish Cream to a cup of black coffee.

[edit] Preparation

Black coffee should be prepared in the usual manner;
Whiskey and plenty of sugar should be added and stirred into the coffee. The purpose of the sugar is to keep the cream from melting into the mix;
The cream should be dropped on top of the coffee forming a 'head', and thereby giving an overall appearance similar to that of a properly poured Guinness. It helps to pour the cream slowly over a spoon that has been heated in a mug of boiling water.