By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 1
10 min
Original Irish Coffee
Recipe GLPR072502b100e35f
A warming Irish cocktail featuring freshly brewed coffee sweetened with brown sugar, spiked with Irish whiskey, and topped with a generous layer of lightly whipped heavy cream. This classic drink is best served hot in a preheated glass mug.
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Ingredients
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1.5 ounces Irish whiskey
Heavy cream, lightly whipped
Directions
Fill a footed glass mug or Irish coffee cup with hot water and let sit for 1 minute to preheat the vessel. Discard the water and set the warm glass aside.
Pour the freshly brewed, piping hot coffee into the preheated glass until about three-quarters full.
Add the brown sugar to the hot coffee and stir well until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Gently stir in the Irish whiskey until fully blended with the coffee.
Pour the lightly whipped heavy cream over the back of a bar spoon held just above the surface of the coffee, allowing it to float and form a thick collar on top. Serve immediately while hot.
Comments
This is a straightforward drink with ingredients stocked at any Charlotte grocery chain—coffee, brown sugar, Irish whiskey, and heavy cream are standard finds at Harris Teeter, Kroger, Food Lion, Walmart, and ALDI. At roughly $2 per serving (assuming mid-shelf whiskey and cream already at home), it's an affordable indulgence for a single drink. The ten-minute time is honest; you're heating coffee, dissolving sugar, pouring whiskey, and whipping cream by hand, nothing more. The only real catch is this is a same-night dessert drink with zero reheating potential and an alcohol component that won't suit every household, plus a single serving limits its use for family meals.
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