Irish coffee glasses

For an Irish coffee you count on about twelve centilitres of coffee, four centilitres of whiskey and a layer of cream a centimetre or two thick. A glass of 24 to 26 cl is ample for that and keeps the filling below the rim, so you can hand it over without spilling. Larger than 28 cl sounds appealing but cools down faster, because the surface is then greater in relation to the contents.

The handle is not decoration. Without one you have to hold the glass by the foot and it tips easily. Check that the handle is firmly attached and that your finger really fits through it. The foot keeps the heat away from the tabletop and makes the glass stable. Finally, look at the wall thickness: glass that is too thin cannot take the thermal shock of boiling water, and glass that is too thick shows the layers less clearly.

The cream only stays on top if it is cold, lightly whipped but still pourable, and if the coffee beneath it has been sweetened. Sugar makes the coffee heavier, and that difference in density is what carries the layer. Skip the sugar and the cream sinks straight through.

Warm the glass first with hot water and throw that away. Then dissolve the brown sugar in the hot coffee, stir in the whiskey and pour the cream slowly over the back of a spoon, just above the surface. Do not stir after that. For a version without cream the same build works for a hot toddy, where you replace the coffee with hot water, lemon and honey.

These glasses have to deal with boiling liquid, and that calls for tempered glass or a version that is expressly heat-resistant. Never put a cold glass straight under the coffee machine, because it is the sudden jump in temperature that makes glass crack, not the heat itself.

Cream and sugar together leave a sticky film that bakes on in the dishwasher if you let it sit. So rinse briefly with lukewarm water before you put the glass away. Then run an ordinary glassware programme and polish the outside, because on clear glass greasy smears really show. Store the glasses upright so the handle does not touch anything.

If you are looking for a glass for coffee without alcohol, the whole assortment is at the coffee glasses, and for the layered version with milk you look at the latte macchiato glasses. If you want a glass that stays cool on the outside and therefore needs no handle, the double-walled glasses are the better choice. If you prefer your whiskey neat, you will find those glasses at the whiskey glasses. The recipe itself is at the irish coffee page, and for a warm drink without coffee at the hot toddy.