Gaelic Coffee
Gaelic coffeeGAL-ik, as Scotland says it
An Irish coffee made with Scotch: hot, sweet black coffee and whisky under a cold collar of lightly whipped cream, drunk through the cream. Use a smooth blend rather than a smoky malt, or the peat takes over the glass.
At a glance
- Coffee : whisky
- 3:1
- Active time
- 4 min
- Total time
- 5 min
- Makes
- 1 glass
- Serve
- Hot, with cream
- Kit
- Heatproof glass
Ingredients
Note: For a honeyed version, use Drambuie, a Scotch whisky liqueur with honey and herbs, for half the whisky, and cut the sugar to one teaspoon.
Method
-
Warm the glass
Fill the glass with hot water, leave it a minute, then empty it.
-
Sugar and coffee, stir
Add the sugar and the hot coffee and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
The dissolved sugar is what makes the coffee heavy enough to float the cream.
-
Add the whisky
Pour in the Scotch and stir once.
-
Float the cream
Pour the lightly whipped cream slowly over the back of a spoon held just above the coffee, so it settles in a thick, level layer. Do not stir. Drink the coffee through the cream.
Why this works
A Gaelic coffee works exactly like an Irish coffee, and the float depends on density. Sugar dissolved in the coffee makes it heavier than the cream above it, and lightly whipping the cream fills it with air, which makes it lighter still. Poured gently over a spoon, the cream sits on top in a clean layer. Skip the sugar or whip the cream too stiff and the float either sinks or sits on top like a lid.
The cream is drunk through, never stirred in. Each sip brings cold cream first, then hot, sweet coffee and whisky, and the cream softens the alcohol. The warm glass keeps the coffee hot, which keeps the whisky's aroma rising through the cream as you drink.
The whisky choice matters more than in an Irish coffee. Irish whiskey is usually triple distilled and unpeated, light and smooth. Scotch ranges from soft, honeyed blends to heavily peated island malts. Peat smoke comes from phenolic compounds that are very powerful even in small amounts, and in a drink with coffee and sugar they take over completely, so the glass tastes of smoke and little else. A smooth blended Scotch keeps the drink in balance. A Speyside malt works if you want something richer.
Gaelic coffee appeared on menus as a variant once Irish coffee spread, after the original was created at Foynes in Ireland in the 1940s and taken to San Francisco in 1952. Drambuie, a Scotch whisky liqueur with heather honey and herbs, makes a sweeter, more aromatic Highland version.
Variations
- With Drambuie: half whisky, half Drambuie, with less sugar.
- Speyside: a soft, fruity single malt in place of the blend.
- Irish coffee: Irish whiskey. See Irish coffee.
- With honey: heather honey instead of sugar, stirred well in hot coffee.
Contains a full measure of whisky. Not for drivers or anyone avoiding alcohol.
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Questions
What is a Gaelic coffee?
An Irish coffee made with Scotch whisky: hot sweet coffee and whisky topped with a float of lightly whipped cream.
What whisky is best for Gaelic coffee?
A smooth blended Scotch. Heavily peated malts overpower the coffee.
Why does my cream sink?
There was not enough sugar in the coffee, or the cream was not whipped. Dissolve the sugar completely and whip the cream lightly so it is thick but still pourable.
What is the difference between Gaelic coffee and Irish coffee?
Only the whisky. Irish coffee uses Irish whiskey, Gaelic coffee uses Scotch.