A proper Irish coffee is made with hot, freshly brewed coffee, a teaspoon of brown sugar, a measure (about 40ml) of good Irish whiskey, and a layer of lightly whipped cream floated on top — never stirred in. Warm the glass first, dissolve the sugar into the hot coffee, stir in the whiskey, then pour the cream gently over the back of a spoon so it settles on the surface. You drink the hot, sweet, whiskey-laced coffee straight through the cool cream — that contrast is the whole point.

It is one of the few cocktails the Irish can fairly claim invented on home soil, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Here's how to get it right.

What you need

• 150ml hot black coffee — freshly brewed and properly hot. Filter or a strong cafetière is ideal; a double espresso topped with hot water works too.

• 1 tsp brown sugar — demerara or soft brown. The sugar isn't just for sweetness; it helps the cream float.

• 40ml Irish whiskey — one measure. A smooth, characterful blend that can stand up to coffee without disappearing.

• A small layer of cream — fresh double or whipping cream, whipped just until it thickens and barely holds a ribbon. Not stiff. It needs to pour.

• A warmed, stemmed glass — a classic Irish coffee glass or a small heatproof tumbler.

How to make it

1. Warm the glass. Fill it with boiling water, let it sit while you brew, then tip it out. A cold glass kills the drink.

2. Sugar and coffee. Add the brown sugar to the warm glass and pour in the hot coffee. Stir until every grain has dissolved — this matters for the float later.

3. Add the whiskey. Pour in your measure and give it one more gentle stir. Leave a couple of centimetres of headroom at the top.

4. Float the cream. Lightly whip the cream until it just thickens. Pour it slowly over the back of a warm spoon held just above the surface, so it spreads and rests on top rather than sinking.

5. Don't stir. Serve it as is. You sip the hot coffee through the cool cream — no spoon, no straw.

Why does the cream sit on top?

This is the step most people fail. Cream floats on an Irish coffee for two reasons: the coffee underneath is sweet (dissolved sugar makes the liquid denser, so the cream sits higher), and the cream is whipped just enough to lighten it without turning it stiff. Pour it too fast, skip the sugar, or over-whip the cream and it sinks into a muddy mess. Pour it slow over the back of a spoon onto sweetened coffee and it behaves. That cool, soft layer against the hot coffee is what makes the drink, so it's worth the thirty seconds of care.

What whiskey should you use in an Irish coffee?

Use an Irish whiskey smooth enough to sip neat but with enough character to cut through coffee and cream. Triple-distilled blends are the natural fit — they're approachable and rounded, and they don't fight the roast. Single malts can work, but a lot of their nuance gets lost under coffee, so save those for the glass on their own.

At Flying Tumbler, our pick for an Irish coffee is The Roller — a smooth, easy-going blend that carries warmth and a little sweetness right through the cream without being shy. It's the bottle we reach for when the evenings draw in.

If you want to take it somewhere of its own, try a Solstice Coffee — our signature winter twist: the standard build with a touch of warming spice (a little cinnamon and a strip of orange peel in the sugar step), made with The Roller. It's the version we make when there's frost on the window and someone's just come in from the cold.

Variations worth trying

• Iced Irish coffee — cool the sweetened coffee, pour over ice with the whiskey, and top with the cream float. A summer answer to a winter classic.

• Spiced (our Solstice serve) — cinnamon and orange in the sugar step, as above.

• Maple instead of sugar — swap the brown sugar for a teaspoon of maple syrup for a deeper, rounder sweetness.

• Decaf, same ritual — a proper Irish coffee works on good decaf too if it's a late one.

A drink with a homecoming in it

Irish coffee was built for arrivals — famously invented to warm cold, weary travellers stepping off a flying boat in County Limerick. That's a story we rather like at Flying Tumbler, given our whole world turns on the journey out and the welcome home. Make one for someone who's just walked through the door. It's a small ritual, and it lands every time.

Flying Tumbler is a family-owned Irish whiskey brand from County Carlow. Please enjoy responsibly. 25+.