Irish Coffee....help needed please

[woodbloke]

With the impending festive season almost upon us, SWIMBO has persuaded me yet again to have a go at Irish Coffee....trouble is, no matter how I make 'em the cream always blends into the coffee instead of sitting on top. We have proper filter coffee, an especially bought bottle of Irish whiskey :lol: :lol: , demerara sugar (not bought the cream yet) and the right glasses (with handles on the side)

Soooo..... where am I going wrong and has anyone any tips or secrets they want to share? What type of cream is best suited- double, extra thick, whipping, clotted? Any help on this one gratefully received - Rob

 

[Argee]

Use double cream, poured gently over the back of a teaspoon held just above the surface of the coffee and touching the inside of the glass.

Ray.

 

[Gill]

If you'd like an alternative to a popular coffee cream liqueur this Christmas, you might like to try the following:

Coffee Cream Liqueur

1/3 bottle whisky
Tin condensed milk
5 fl oz double cream
½ tsp coffee granules

Dissolve coffee in whisky. Add rest of ingredients and drink or bottle. Keep refrigerated and consume before use-by date of the cream.

I know it's not Irish coffee (I make mine the same way as Ray ) but it is very tasty. You can also make a lovely orange variant by soaking orange peel in the whisky for 24 hours, then straining it and proceeding as per the above recipe but omitting the coffee.

Gill

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi Rob,

My son Scott knows how to do it, after years of experience working in restaurants before he started his flying. As soon as he gets in I'll ask him and get back to you - they taste really good when you get them right

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[CHJ]

And don't forget to stir the sugar in first if the person wants it and wait for the turbulence to subside.

I was once in the embarrassing position of watching a colleague (an arrogant twit several years my elder as it happens), after the host at a rather high power boardroom lunch had pored him an Irish coffee to perfection, promptly grab the sugar basin and proceed to stir in 3 spoons of white sugar.

The audible fractional silence from around the table was totally missed by him.

Mind you it fitted his persona with the chairman, whom he started a conversation with on arrival by asking who the luscious dolly bird was in reception, only to get the reply "she's my daughter".

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Rob

IIRC, you must have sugar in there with the coffee for it to work.

Cheers
Neil

 

[DomValente]

Damn, one I can answer and nearly missed it. Ray and Neil Are absolutley right, but make sure the cream is chilled,that being the case single cream will work but double is better

 

[RogerS]

I prefer using the spoon the other way round..hold it so that the edges are just above the coffee and gently pour the cream into the bowl of the spoon. As it overflows the spoon bowl it spreads out across the top of the coffee.

 

[RogerM]

If you'd like an alternative to a popular coffee cream liqueur this Christmas, you might like to try the following:

Coffee Cream Liqueur

1/3 bottle whisky
Tin condensed milk
5 fl oz double cream
½ tsp coffee granules

Dissolve coffee in whisky. Add rest of ingredients and drink or bottle. Keep refrigerated and consume before use-by date of the cream.

Gill - I'm salivating at the thought! How big a tin of condensed milk do you use?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Hi again Rob,

I've asked Scott. He says there are several different ways of doing it. This is his way.

Pour the whiskey into the glass.
Add the coffee.
Add ONE sugar (Scott reckons white tastes better and dissolves quicker).
Stir well and ensure the sugar is dissolved.
Put the spoon in so that the tip is just below the surface and a very small amount of coffee goes into the spoon.
Pour the cream into the spoon slowly (but not too slowly) while the coffee is swirling round.
The coffee that is in the spoon will give a nice swirl pattern to the top of the cream.

If you really want to impress, you can actually layer the whiskey, coffee and cream. To do this:

Pour the whiskey into the glass.
Pour the coffee into a jug with a spout. Add ONE white sugar to the coffee and stir till dissolved.
Pour the coffee into the glass over the spoon as above.
Pour the cream as above.
Pop a coffee bean on top.

We normally use double cream but both the above would work with single cream as well.

If you are still struggling, we are happy to pop in some time next week and give you a demo

Hope this helps :wink:

Cheers,

Paul

 

[Gill]

Hi Roger

Depending on the brand, either a 12 oz or 15 oz can will do. A few ounces either way don't make much difference. The condensed milk just adds thickening and sweetness so you can adjust the quantity to taste.

Oh, I forget to mention - although you can mix it by hand, it's much smoother if you use a blender. And of course, someone has to lick... errr ... clean the blender afterwards .

Gill

 

[woodbloke]

Many thanks for all you tips and advice, hopefully won't make a hash of it this Christmas now.

Paul Chapman wrote:

If you are still struggling, we are happy to pop in some time next week and give you a demo

Paul, that would be great, gives me a chance to open the whiskey early :lol: . Am around all this week, give me a PM when your'e in Salisbury this week - Rob

 

[Steve Maskery]

My way is as follows.

Pour good Irish Whiskey into a whiskey glass.
Pour good coofee into a coffee cup.
Drink the two separately.

I can't understand why people ruin two perfectly good drinks by mixing them together!

Christmas? Bah, humbug!

(Oh and Alf, Hogwatch was pretty good!)

 

[woodbloke]

Steve Maskery wrote:

Pour good Irish Whiskey into a whiskey glass

When Paul comes down tho' Steve we will have to sample the Irish to make sure its the proper stuff :lol: - Rob

 

[promhandicam]

. . . And of course, someone has to lick... errr ... clean the blender afterwards . Gill

Fair enough but please unplug the blender first - the alternative doesn't bear thinking about - altoghether "all I want for christmas is my two front teeth (and all the other missing bits)"

Steve :wink:

 

[Les Mahon]

One reason why the cream sinks in Irish coffe is because there is too much whiskey in it!

Other than that I've always found that following the advice already given will lead to perfect results every time.

Enjoy em!
Les

 

[andys wood shed]

Strong sweet coffee as you need to alter the density in order for the cream to float is my recipe
Use double cream and give it a stir
Whiskey as much as you like
and pour the cream onto a spoon as Roger suggested although I have a spoon with a bent handle (like a ladle)
also make sure you warm the glasses up

Enjoy :wink:

Andy

 

[woodbloke]

Paul Chapman and his son Scott came today to show me how its done....here's a pic with the results, that's Scott, my daughter Megs, Paul and Alyson enjoying a very late Christmas beverage - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

It was a pleasure, Rob, and nice to meet your wife and daughter. And the elm cabinet is looking really nice.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

Thanks again Paul for the 'insider' information on the coffee and I look forward to our workshop day when you can show me the schh.......... [-( :-# ....possibly more than a little :mrgreen: - Alson says that we'll quite happily be Scotts passengers...but only on the second flight :lol: - Rob