HISTORY OF IRISH COFFEE

Irish Coffee was conceived by bar tender Joe Sheridan at Shannon Airport Ireland in 1940's. Patrons who were about to join the millions of other Irish who had immigrated to America would gather at the small bar shivering from the wet and cold and ask for something to "warm their hearts". The blend of Irish Whiskey and piping hot coffee, blended with Irish brown sugar and topped with cool cream was just the answer. In 1952, Stanton Delaplane, an international travel writer, discovered this treat in Ireland and brought it to the Buena Vista bar in San Francisco and the rest is history.

Since then however, many more Irish have followed in the footsteps of those immigrants in the 1950's. Including the founders (Bernard and Rosemary Walsh) of the Irish Coffee Company (Hot Irishman) who spent many years working and travelling the world and struggled to find an Irish Coffee that tasted as good as those made back in Ireland.

As part of their travels Bernard and Rosemary ran a ski chalet in France and treated all their guests to Irish Coffees after every evening meal. Making between 20 and 30 Irish Coffees a night was fun but was also labour intensive. The Walsh's thought there had to be a better way to make a consistently great Irish Coffee without the complexity and inefficiencies of the old way. It was here the Hot Irishman was born.