It was the 1940s, Foynes was one of Europe’s biggest airports. It was the main airport for Flying Boats and regularly received passengers from the U.S. including Hollywood stars and important political figures. Joe Sheridan a young chef was in charge of the restaurant. As the weather in the West can be horrendous, Joe decided to create a drink that would warm his guests up and that drink is the famous Irish Coffee. The story goes that when an American passenger first drank it he asked “Is this Brazilian coffee?” in which Joe replied “No, that’s Irish coffee”.
International success of the Irish coffee is credited to the travel writer Stanton Delaplane. After tasting the coffee, Stanton returned to the U.S. where he told his friend Jack Koeppler, the owner of Buena Vista about it. The duo tried to recreate the coffee with little success. Since they could not recreate it, Buena Vista offered Joe a job in the States in which he accepted.
While you might not be able to sample the Foynes original Irish Coffee. They are in fact very easy to recreate at home.
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 tablespoon brown sugar
40ml Irish Whiskey of choice
Boiling water
3 tablespoons of lightly whipped cream.
