Dublin's Merrion Hotel Offers Recipe for the Ultimate Irish Coffee

While it dates back some 65 years, Irish Coffee is still the beverage of choice to banish the chill of a cool night. At The Merrion, Dublin's most luxurious 5-star hotel, patrons in The Cellar Bar, the intimate No. 23 cocktail bar, or the Drawing Room relax after dinner and imbibe one of the hotel's signature Irish Coffees...much like Americans did nearly half a century before.

Legend has it that Irish Coffee came to the world's attention in 1942, when Americans flying to Ireland landed at Foynes Airport in County Limerick. John F. Kennedy, Humphrey Bogart, Eleanor Roosevelt, Edward G. Robinson, and Ernest Hemingway would rest in the airport while the flying boat was prepared for its next journey.

One evening, due to poor conditions on the North Atlantic, a flight had to return to Foynes. The Restaurant at the airport was informed to ready food and drink as the passengers would be cold and miserable.

Chef Joe Sheridan was preparing coffee when he thought a little drop of something stronger might warm them up, so he added Irish Whiskey to their coffee.

A surprised passenger asked, "Is this Brazilian coffee?" to which Joe replied, "No, that's Irish Coffee!" and from then on Irish Coffee became the official welcoming drink at Foynes Airport. Some 10 years later, Chef Sheridan traveled to San Francisco where he introduced the beverage to America. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Yet many may wonder how to prepare the perfect Irish Coffee at home to ward off a chill on a cold winter's night. In its inimitable style of service and excellence, the bartenders at The Merrion have concocted their own signature preparation of Irish Coffee as follows:

The Merrion Irish Coffee

Ingredients:
Jameson Irish Whiskey - 35 cl and a drop for good luck
Strong freshly brewed coffee (caffeinated or decaf)
2 Brown Sugar Cubes (depending upon required sweetness)
50 m. Heavy Cream
3 Coffee Beans

Preparation:
Fill a café latte glass with a handle with hot water and leave to warm. Brew a pot of coffee. Empty the water from the glass and place the sugar cubes inside. Caramelize the sugar by pouring a few drops of Whiskey over them and gently light with a long match. Only let it burn for a few seconds so that the sugar just begins to caramelize. Pour in the measure of Whiskey and fill with coffee to within one inch of the rim. Ensure you keep a teaspoon in the glass at this stage. Stir well and ensure the sugar is completely dissolved to avoid a grainy texture when drinking. Place the cream in a clean cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until whipped. Using the back of the spoon, gently pour the cream into the glass. Garnish with three coffee beans and serve.

On a typical winter's evening, The Merrion might serve up about a dozen Irish Coffees to patrons. However Stephen Lynch, Assistant Manager for the Drawing Rooms and Bar No. 23, reports that about two-and-a-half years ago, he and his staff prepared 150 Irish Coffees in an hour and a half much to the pleasure of the entire French Rugby Team who had taken up residence in the hotel bar that evening.

For further information and reservations contact The Merrion directly at: 011 353-1-603-0600; www.merrionhotel.com.

Background on The Merrion: Opened in October 1997, The Merrion is one of Dublin's most elegant and unusual hotels. The property was created from a row of four meticulously restored Grade One Listed Georgian townhouses and a specially commissioned contemporary Garden Wing. The Merrion offers 123 guestrooms and 20 suites, The Tethra Spa, the two-star Michelin Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud (the only one in Ireland), and one of Ireland's largest collections of private art as well as two landscaped period gardens. The Merrion has received the global "Commitment to Quality Award" from The Leading Hotels of the World.

SOURCE The Merrion