Celebrating St. Patrick With Irish Coffee From The Dead Rabbit

As we draw near to March 17, the annual day of celebrating The Feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, myriad celebrations await, from festive parades to pub crawls and Gaelic-inspired feasts in the United States and Canada to the European continent and particularly the Emerald Isle, where Saint Patrick’s Day commemorates the arrival of the Christian faith to Ireland. For many, it’s a way to observe the rich heritage and culture of the Irish. While many will don the color green, decorate with shamrocks, and raise a pint or two of Guinness among friends, one of the best ways to give the nod to St. Patty’s Day is with a warm, soulful cup of Irish Coffee. Typically a, or simply a splash of Irish whiskey in your morning cup of Joe, there’s something remarkable about sipping this bold, sweet, and creamy nightcap. (Especially when prepared by New York’s renowned Irish pub, The Dead Rabbit.) Soon to open a second location in Austin and a third in New Orleans by the end of the year, we caught up with managing partner Jack McGarry for his take on what makes Irish Coffee so unique, and he was even kind enough to share his special recipe.

As you prepare to open the second location of The Dead Rabbit this spring, what made Austin a natural fit for the laid-back Irish hospitality the pub evokes?

The Irish story in Texas and Austin is well documented, going as far back as the 18th century, with Irish people playing a significant role in the state and the city in the preceding centuries. As a byproduct of the rich Irish heritage in Austin, there is an appreciation of Irish culture through our music, art, food, and drink, which is a critical factor for us. Beyond that, Austin is a dynamic, vibrant, experience- and hospitality-driven city. We think we can add something unique and highly differentiated, which is telling the story of contemporary Ireland.

Can you talk a bit about Irish spirits, particularly Irish Whiskey? How is it different from Scotch and Bourbon? What makes it unique in taste and experience?

Irish Whiskey shares similarities with other categories, with Blended, Single Grain, and Single Malt Irish Whiskey. However, we have a unique category called Single Pot Still, which is made similarly to Single Malt in pot stills. Still, its mash bill is made up of malted and un-malted barley, giving it an incredible viscous mouthfeel with a lot of spice and fruit characteristics.

So, with this additional unique category, coupled with the explosive growth of the category, Ireland now has close to 50 operational distilleries when at the beginning of the 2010s, we had 4; it’s a fantastic time to talk about the dynamism of Irish Whiskey and the Irish Spirits industry in general with the emergence also of Irish Gins, Vodkas, Irish Creams, and Poitíns. For a long time, we were pigeonholed as a shooting spirit, but the products coming out of Ireland are among the best in the world in their respective segments, and we can’t wait to share our love of our native spirits with others.

What are some of your favorite Irish whiskies, and what do you love about them?

That’s tough as there are so many people doing great things. That being said, I’m a huge Single Pot Still fan, as mentioned above, so I love all of the stuff coming out of the Midleton Distillery in County Cork, and I can’t wait for other distillers to release their versions of SPS in due course. Beyond that, I love what the Waterford Distillery is doing with terroir, I’m a big fan of the Bushmills Single Malts in County Antrim, and I love what Louise McGuane is doing restoring bonding traditions in Ireland with J.J. Corry. I also love what Teeling and Drumshanbo are doing.

In Ireland, Irish Coffee seems as readily available at pubs as Guinness. But just like Guinness, there appears to be an authentic love for it among locals and tourists alike. What is your understanding of the heritage and lore behind it?

As you said, like Guinness, Irish Coffee is pretty straightforward. Still, Steve Jobs believed that simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication rings true. He said,

“It takes a lot of hard work to make something, to truly understand the underlying challenges, and come up with elegant solutions… It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves digging through the depth of complexity. To be truly simple, you have to go really deep… You have to deeply understand the essence of a product in order to be able to get rid of the parts that are not essential.”

We went really deep with our Irish Coffee, taking years to perfect the process encompassing sous vide preparation, Irish-roasted Coffee, developing a Demerara syrup, creating our own Irish Coffee Glass, and being the first adopter of using protein shakers to stabilize the cream. It’s beautifully simple for us and others to execute, but it’s also extremely simple to mess it up if you don’t know what you’re doing. We go this deep with all our core serves, including Guinness, to ensure what we’re doing is the absolute best we can do. For reference, we sell thousands a week.

What goes into making a great Irish coffee? What are the simple things that make a perfect pour?

You need good quality filter coffee, not espresso, as it overpowers the drink. Use earthier and more aromatic sugars such as Demerara, Muscovado, or molasses. Use a good quality whiskey—blends work well for the masses because of the grain content. Use a cream that’s over 35% fat so it floats on top well, and make sure the cream is cold, as the dynamic contrast between the warm Coffee, sugar, whiskey mixture, and cold cream is part of the experience. Lastly, use a good recipe to ensure the drink is balanced. I remember Sasha Petraske saying that a great Manhattan is better than the sum of its parts and that it should taste like a Manhattan and not its components. Irish Coffee is similar in that regard.

The Dead Rabbit Irish Coffee

1 oz. Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey

3.5 oz. Coffee

.625 oz. Rich Demerara syrup*

Combine first three ingredients in a coffee glass, leaving a 1/2-inch at the top for the cream. Top with heavy fresh whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

*Combine 2 parts Demerara sugar with 1 part water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool.