Last weekend I was having a night off (imagine that!!) and Kelsey and I invited two very good friends over to Margaret’s Cottage for a joyful evening of cheese and wine and gossip and generally putting the world to rights. The craic was great. We had utterly demolished some very fine cheeses, some of my homemade chutneys and a selection of rather nice savoury biscuits…not to mention devouring some totally scrumptious wine. And (never start a sentence with ‘and’) And, as the evening progressed we began discussing, and then making, Irish coffee.

I adore an Irish coffee.

It was the perfect end to a perfect evening and absolutely, totally and utterly delish. For me, Irish coffee is one of those wonderful tastes that evokes marvellous memories (of when I’ve enjoyed Irish coffee before, and who with, and where we were) I’m a bit like that with the smell of crayons too…. Smelling crayons brings me back to being six years old at primary school. I digress. Sorry. That is SO like me!

I’m very interested to hear your own methods of making Irish coffee. I grew up in a household where my own lovely not-the-slightest-demented-yet Mum did NOT like sugar in any type of coffee, so she tried her best to make a non-sweet version. Then, during my college years I worked every hour God sent in a very cheesy American diner with a brilliant cocktail bar and was told that you need sugar in the coffee to make the cream float.

Is this true ?

Anyway, this is my Irish coffee recipe…well, when I say recipe, I guess the quantities are liberal, depending on the company and the whiskey…but the method is still the same (ish)

1. Use good coffee – I use organic ground coffee (but, admittedly, as the evening progresses, and the sobriety diminishes, instant coffee is sort-of ok)
2. Use Irish whiskey. I prefer Jamieson’s (but, admittedly, as the evening progresses, and the sobriety diminishes, any whisky is sort-of ok)
3. Good heavy whipped double cream – NEVER squirty cream, no matter how the evening progresses, and the sobriety diminishes, squirty cream is never EVER ok. Ok?
4. Brown sugar (but, admittedly, as the evening progresses, and the sobriety diminishes, white sugar is sort-of ok too)

I am about to explain the SOBER method of making the first Irish coffees of the evening, and I cannot be responsible for any cracked glasses, burnt hands, scalding hot spills across the kitchen as the evening progresses and the sobriety diminishes. You have been warned. I abdicate any responsibility for your Irish-coffee-induced-accidents.

Not my fault.

I wasn’t there.

It was big boys and they ran away.

Here goes:

1. Use a thick-stemmed glass – I use a wine glass, but a chunky one.
2. Put a teaspoon in the glass and THEN pour it three-quarters full of good hot black coffee.
3. Add a heaped teaspoon of brown sugar and a measure of whiskey and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the teaspoon.
4. Add about one tablespoon of thick, whipped, double cream, by GENTLY placing the cream on top of the coffee.
5. “Slainte” and enjoy. Oh, and drink responsibly (it says somewhere)