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Irish Coffee

Coffee and Coffee Drinks

Irish coffee is a hot drink made from hot coffee, Irish whiskey and sugar, topped with a layer of lightly whipped cream that is meant to float on the surface rather than mix into the coffee below. It is credited to chef Joe Sheridan at the Foynes and later Shannon flying boat terminal in County Limerick, Ireland, in the nineteen forties, said to have been created to warm and comfort cold, weary transatlantic airline passengers. The drink was popularized in the United States after a travel writer encountered it in Ireland and helped introduce it to a San Francisco bar in the nineteen fifties, from where it spread across America and internationally.

Facts
Origin Period, From (Year)
1942 to 1943 1
Origin Region
Ireland 1
Connections

Associated With

Coffee, Drinks
Whisky, Drinks

Uses Ingredient

Cream, Ingredients
Source Irish coffee - Wikipedia
Sugar, Ingredients
Source Irish coffee - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Ireland

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Source Irish coffee - Wikipedia
Sources
1. Irish coffee - Wikipedia
  • History section, Foynes origin
    One version is attributed to a Joe Sheridan, head chef at the restaurant and coffee shop in the Foynes Airbase flying boat terminal (about 15 kilometres or 9.3 miles from present-day Shannon Airport, County Clare).
  • History section, Sheridan's invention (from)
    In 1942 or 1943, he added whiskey to the coffee of some disembarking passengers.
  • History section, Sheridan's invention (to)
    In 1942 or 1943, he added whiskey to the coffee of some disembarking passengers.
  • Uses Ingredient: Sugar, lead paragraph
    Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar, which has been stirred and topped with cream (sometimes cream liqueur).
  • Uses Ingredient: Cream, lead paragraph
    Irish coffee (Irish: caife Gaelach) is a caffeinated alcoholic drink consisting of Irish whiskey, hot coffee and sugar, which has been stirred and topped with cream (sometimes cream liqueur).
View the Source
Wikidata: Irish Coffee
Wikidata Q622954, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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