Invented by Irish chef Joe Sheridan in 1942 at the now defunct Foynes airbase outside of Limerick, Ireland, Irish Coffee is the granddaddy of
coffee cocktails. Stanton Delaplane, a Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco Chronicle columnist, brought the recipe to the attention of Jack Koeppler at the Buena Vista Hotel (now the Buena Vista Cafe) in San Francisco in 1952, where it's been served exactly the same way ever since.
I can't even begin to count the number of Buena Vista Irish Coffees I imbibed in the 40 years I lived in the Bay Area or the number of guests I took there over those years. It's also always on my itinerary for every visit to my old stomping grounds. Though I can make an Irish Coffee the proper way, it doesn't taste quite the same without the background sounds of cable cars and the smell of San Francisco Bay.
Buena Vista Cafe's
Irish Coffee Recipe
Fill glass with very hot water to warm, then empty.
Fill glass 3/4 full with hot black coffee.
Add two sugar cubes, stirring until dissolved.
Add 1-1/3 oz Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey.
Top with a collar of whipped heavy whipping cream, pouring over with a spoon.
Serve and enjoy hot.
I also have a chilled version:
The IRISH COFFEE MARTINI
The Buena Vista Cafe is located just to the left of the Powell-Hyde Cable Car's last stop in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
