Did you know that the Irish Coffee was actually perfected right in San Francisco at one of our favorite drinking spots the
Buena Vista? And did you know it is not just hot coffee, any old whiskey and a dollop of “whipped cream”.
Originally the Irish coffee experiment began at the Shannon Airport
in Ireland on a chilly November evening in 1952. Two friends, Jack
Koeppler (then-owner of the Buena Vista) and international travel writer
Stanton Delaplane
spent the evening pouring, mixing and drinking coffee concoctions.
Unfortunately, the drink was not perfected at that time, even though, I
am sure they had fun trying.
The two men went their separate ways, and Jack returned home to San
Francisco where he continued working on the hot toddy. After the jaunt
at the Shannon airport, it was confirmed that the drink was not right,
as the whiskey was not perfect and the cream did not float. Jack
continued mixing and pouring until he found the perfect Irish whiskey to
use in the toddy; then he moved onto making cream “float”. He reached
out to the mayor of San Francisco for his expertise as he was also a
prominent dairy owner. Jack learned that the cream had to be lightly
frothed, in order to reach the consistency that would “float” on top of
the drink. Hence, the Irish Coffee was complete.
To make a traditional (and proper) Irish Coffee you must follow the following steps:
- Irish Coffee Glasses must used and preheated before mixing the drink
- Black coffee
- Brown sugar cubes; not white. Sugar is a must as it helps the liquid cream float
- Irish Whiskey must be used, no other will do
- Heavy cream that has been frothed is carefully poured over the back
of a spoon that is held just above the surface of the coffee and raised a
little. The cream will float and you will enjoy the spiked warm
coffee through the cream.
Recipe: Traditional Irish Coffee
*inspired by one of our brother-inlaw Shawn, and the Buena Vista
*makes 4 Irish coffees
- 5 cups fresh brewed black coffee
- 4 ounces Irish whiskey, we use Jameson
- brown sugar cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
Brew black coffee according to the directions of your coffee maker.
Bring a pot of water to almost boiling point. Carefully pour into
Irish coffee glasses. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and gently mix
at a speed of 4, until bubbly; about 1.5 minutes. The cream will still
be pourable and full of tiny bubbles. Set aside. Pour the water out
of the glasses. Place two sugar cubes into each glass. Pour the hot
coffee into the glass until three quarters of the way full. Stir until
the sugar is dissolved. Add 1 ounce of whiskey to each glass. Then
pour the cream over the top, following the step above. Serve. Drink.
Taken from
http://chezus.com/
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