Making a great hot drink, explains Dead Rabbit’s Jack McGarry, has a lot to do with temperature. In the case of the bar’s famous Irish Coffee, the correct temperature—right around 75 degrees—prevents the coffee from taking on a burnt, metallic taste. Another key component to this Irish-American classic is the glassware: a stemmed six-ounce, tulip-shaped glass showcases the drinks layers of dark coffee, whiskey and sugar beneath very soft, barely whipped heavy cream.
The Dead Rabbit Irish Coffee
The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog | New York
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey, preferably Powers Gold Label
- 4 ounces hot filtered coffee
- 1/2 ounce Demerara sugar syrup (see Editor's Note)
- 1 ounce whipped heavy cream
Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
- Add all the ingredients to an Irish coffee glass.
- Float an inch of whipped cream on top.
- Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg
Editor's Note
Demerara Syrup:
2 cups granulated Demerara sugar
2 cups water
Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, but do not boil. Slowly stir to dissolve the sugar. When the syrup has thickened, remove from the heat. Use a funnel to pour into bottles. The syrup, which yields about 16 ounces, will keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.