# Raise Your Glass: January 25th Honors Irish Coffee's 1943 Airport Origins

# 🍫 National Irish Coffee Day! ☕ **January 25th** celebrates **National Irish Coffee Day** – a delightfully spirited holiday honoring one of the world's most perfect marriages of coffee, whiskey, cream, and sugar! ## The Legendary Origin Story This isn't just any coffee drink with a splash of booze – Irish Coffee has a **genuine, documented origin story** that reads like a cozy novel. It was invented on a cold, miserable night in **1943** at Foynes Airbase in County Limerick, Ireland by **Chef Joe Sheridan**. A Pan Am flying boat had turned back due to terrible weather, and its cold, exhausted passengers stumbled back into the airport terminal. Joe decided these poor souls needed something stronger than regular coffee, so he added Irish whiskey and topped it with cream. When a passenger asked if this was Brazilian coffee, Joe famously replied: *"No, that's Irish Coffee!"* ## The Perfect Irish Coffee Recipe A **true** Irish Coffee follows strict rules: - **Hot, strong black coffee** (not too hot though!) - **Irish whiskey** (traditionally Jameson or Bushmills) - **Brown sugar** (white is cheating!) - **Heavy cream**, lightly whipped and floated on top (NOT whipped into stiff peaks) The cream should be poured over the back of a spoon so it floats beautifully on the surface – you drink the hot, sweet, whiskey-laced coffee *through* the cold cream. Heaven! ## Fun Facts - Travel writer **Stanton Delaplane** brought the recipe to America in 1952, to the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco - The Buena Vista still serves **2,000 Irish Coffees daily**! - A proper Irish Coffee glass is stemmed and heat-resistant **Sláinte!** ☘️🥃 2026-01-25T10:51:37.158Z This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.