Posts Tagged ‘ Iced Irish Coffee ’

St. Patrick’s Day Vegan Iced Irish Coffee

Vegan Iced Irish Coffee

St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite alcoholidays.

As you know from my Christmas Irish Coffee post– I am an Irish Coffee aficionado.  During the winter months my family lives on that stuff.

Since our weather here on the West Coast has been pretty dang dreamy lately (sitting in the 70s), for St. Patrick’s Day I wanted to mix up a more seasonally appropriate version of my favorite winter beverage, a Vegan Iced Irish Coffee.

The traditional Irish Coffee is a very basic recipe – whiskey, coffee, sugar and heavy cream. But for some reason, it is difficult to ever get a very good one which is why my family has perfected their recipe over the years but recently I developed an allergy to dairy so I had to once again go back to the drawing board and figure out how to mix my perfect cocktail with vegan ingredients.

The first thing you HAVE to have for a great Irish Coffee (hot or cold) is an Irish whiskey.

Irish whiskey which is made from a mixture of barley and malt (then aged a minimum of three years) has a different flavor than American whiskey which is made from corn, wheat or rye (and aged typically only 2 years).  It is lighter and more full in flavor, not as aggressive of a taste as American whiskey.

For Irish Coffee my go-to is Jameson. There’s a softness to it that really pairs well with coffee.

The iced version needs a kick so regular coffee won’t do.  You need the bitter, robust taste of cold brew coffee.  If you aren’t familiar with cold brew coffee, it’s simply coffee brewed without heat over a long period of time (usually 12 to 24 hours) which makes it super strong and totally delicious.

For the sugar component I use Kahlua- since Kahlua has the perfect amount of sweetness and it already has coffee in it so it helps round out the flavor of the drink nicely.

My new “cream” ingredient is coconut milk and coconut whip cream.  It has the right consistency and adds a touch of sweetness that compliments the drink. Almond milk tends to be a bit too grainy.

What You Need:

  • 2/3 Cup Cold Brew Coffee
  • 2 oz. Irish Whiskey
  • 1 oz. Kahlua
  • 2 oz. Coconut Milk
  • Coconut Whip Cream for top (optional)

How to Mix It:

Combine Cold Brew Coffee, Whiskey and Kahlua  into a glass filled with ice. Pour the Coconut Milk over the top- letting it naturally swirl through the glass.  Finish with a dollop of Coconut Whip Cream on top and serve.

Slainte!

Vegan Iced Irish Coffee

Vegan Iced Irish Coffee

Vegan Iced Irish Coffee