How To Upgrade Your Irish Coffee For The Holidays

Irish coffee is one of those cocktails that feels tailor-made for festive indulgence. A classic Irish coffee contains Irish whiskey, cream, coffee (of course), and some brown sugar. This simple drink provides the perfect canvas for experimenting with different sweeteners or flavors. We spoke to Molly Horn, chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More to get her tips on sprucing up your Irish coffee for the holidays.

According to Horn, cream liqueurs are a great way to make your Irish coffee feel even more festive for the holidays. She says, "...one of my favorites is Kavanagh Pumpkin Spice Cream Liqueur. Pumpkin Spice flavor is really just warm winter spices like allspice, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon, which sounds just as lovely for winter as it does for fall! Peppermint cream, such as Caruva Peppermint Horchata, also works really nicely for those peppermint latte lovers."

Incorporating cream liqueurs into Irish coffee changes your ratios just slightly. Because the liqueur typically has a base alcohol, you'll want to pull back on the amount of whiskey you use in your Irish coffee and eliminate the sugar completely (your cream liqueur will have enough to keep you covered). We recommend a 1:1 ratio of cream liqueur to whiskey in your Irish coffee for that perfect balance between bitter coffee, sweet liqueur, and strong alcohol.

Adding a sweet and creamy liqueur to Irish coffee will definitely make an indulgent holiday drink all the more indulgent. Luckily, Molly Horn shared some tips for getting your spirits into the holiday spirit, without jacking up the sugar. "One of my new favorite recipes is to use a slightly sweeter flavored whiskey such as Ensign Red Salted Caramel and stir in a couple dashes of Angostura bitters. These bitters are intensely flavored with all kinds of bold spice notes, and a few dashes goes a long way to bringing festive flavors."

Buying a flavored whiskey may seem controversial in some circles, but we're all for it. We even took the time to rank 16 popular flavored whiskeys to make sure our readers only reach for the best. Spoiler alert: Wild Turkey American Honey Sting came out on top. Using a flavored whiskey in your cocktails, like Horn recommends, is a genius way to infuse even more complexity and festivity into your cocktails. So we say unapologetically make your Irish coffee however you like it and indulge this holiday season. Slàinte!