Brown Sugar Irish Coffee. A simple and easy way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - or any day! Made with coffee, Irish whiskey, brown sugar syrup, and whipped cream.

Photography Credit: Garrett McCord

Irish coffee is an exercise in simplicity. Too much fuss and it loses its character.

You want a strong punch of coffee, a lingering warmth from the Irish whiskey, a touch of sweetness, and some cream to bring it all together.

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Why Brown Sugar?

Keeping this desire for simplicity in mind, one change that I’ve made to make my Irish coffee special is to use brown sugar in place of white. Its musky, molasses-y flavor bolsters the coffee and lends the whiskey a bit more heft.

Simple to make, but the result is anything but.

Resist the temptation to add coffee liqueurs such as Irish cream since, ultimately, that’s all you will taste.

Pick the Liquor for Your Palate

However, one substitution that I do condone is swapping out the Irish whiskey for another liquor. If dark rum or perhaps Kentucky bourbon is more your game then, by all means, go right ahead. I’ve even seen a bartender friend of mine use barrel-aged aquavit, though that may require a Scandinavian heritage to appreciate it.

The recipe will make you plenty of both the brown sugar syrup and cream. The syrup can be stored in the fridge for a month. It’s fantastic with tea, plain coffee, or used in cocktails. The leftover cream can be used to top any dessert or served for brunch with pancakes or waffles.