A beverage of sweetened hot coffee and Irish whiskey, topped with whipped cream - that's Irish coffee for you!

A wonderful concoction. Ever wonder, where the stuff comes from? It seems to stem back to the times of the flying boats (seaplanes) about 60 years ago. It was a way to calm the passengers' nerves!

Circa 1930 To 1940

Back in the 1930s and 40s, one of the most interesting modes of travel was in flying boats. Literally a cross between a boat and a plane. They carried everyone from royalty and movie stars, to refugees. Because of their size, however, the seaplanes could not fly too high over the ocean. This left them at the mercy of storms whenever they arose, and often, they had to turn back.

The Story...

One winter morning in 1942, Joe Sheridan, a chef at the flying-boat seaport, Shannon, was notified of a flight coming in. The flying boat carried about 30 people in an unpressurised cabin. The flight had lasted for more than 10 hours and had had to turn back, due to bad weather, leaving the passengers cold and uncomfortable. The catering manager, Brandan O'Regan, spotted a need for something to warm and cheer the frozen transatlantic passengers while they waited for the onward flight. He asked Sheridan to make something hot, alcoholic and with an Irish flavour. Joe Sheridan came up with Irish coffee - a hot drink consisting of coffee mixed with whiskey and sugar then topped off with half an inch of cream, through which the coffee is drunk. He brewed this dark, rich coffee, sloshed in the whiskey and topped each cup off with freshly whipped cream.

There was a hushed silence as cups were raised to lips, and the warm brew was savoured. "Hey!" said a surprised passenger, "Is this Brazilian coffee?" "No," said the Chef, "that's Irish coffee." And, thus the name stuck! Eventually, he perfected his recipe for Irish coffee and secured his place in history.

... And It Reached The Rest Of The World!

Even after conventional planes replaced flying boats after World War II, Shannon Airport was still used as a fuelling point and Irish coffee continued to be extremely popular.

In the 1950s, Stanford Delaplane, a travel writer from the 'San Francisco Chronicle', was in transit and liked the Irish coffee so much that he decided to import it to the USA. However, his best efforts to make the cream float separately on the top proved unsuccessful and he had to return to Shannon for a lesson from Sheridan.

The Right Method

Sheridan taught him the right method. This involved warming the glass to prevent it from cracking, and then combining hot coffee and a measure of Irish whiskey. A tablespoon of sugar was artfully mixed in.

It was also important that the coffee beans were roasted right, for insufficient roasting would fail to fully extract the oils, which impart the unique flavour and aroma; and excessive roasting could burn away the aromatic oils! The coffee had to be made dense enough to enable the cream to float more easily.

Finally the cream - lightly whipped - had to be poured over the back of a spoon to discourage mixing.

Making Irish coffee was certainly an art! Sheridan later went to California, consequently, where Irish coffee is still extremely popular.

The Story Today

If you travel through Shannon Airport today, look out for a plaque that has been placed there in honour of this awesome invention. And stop at The Sheridan Bar for one of Joe Sheridan's creations, still being made to his original recipe.

Make Your Own Irish Coffee

Here's the legendary recipe in its original form - Chef Sheridan's very own invention.

❖ Heat up a stemmed goblet.

❖ Pour in one shot of Irish whiskey.

❖ Drop in three white sugar cubes.

❖ Fill nearly to the top of the goblet (stop about 2.5 cm from the rim) with strong black coffee.

❖ Stir gently.

❖ Pouring it over the back of a spoon, gently add heavy cream to fill the goblet, floating it on top of the coffee.

❖ Do not stir - the full flavour as intended is achieved by sipping this drink through the cream.

Try This Traditional Irish Toast

Sláinte!

This is Gaelic for "To Your Health!" If you have trouble pronouncing it, pretend it says "It's a lawn chair", and say it in a quick slur.