Irish Coffee
Featured
Puzzle #121 · September 30, 2025
coffee mixed with a dash of Irish whiskey and served with cream on top. Legend has it that on a particularly stormy winter evening in 1943, a group of weary passengers disembarked from a Pan Am flying boat that had been forced to turn back due to severe weather.
Joe Sheridan, the head chef at the restaurant and coffee shop in the Foynes terminal, wanted to offer them something to warm their spirits. He brewed a pot of strong coffee, added a generous splash of Irish whiskey to each cup, and topped them off with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
As the passengers savored the steaming, aromatic concoction, one of them asked Sheridan if he was serving Brazilian coffee. Without missing a beat, Sheridan famously quipped, ‘No, that's Irish coffee.’
Joe Sheridan, the head chef at the restaurant and coffee shop in the Foynes terminal, wanted to offer them something to warm their spirits. He brewed a pot of strong coffee, added a generous splash of Irish whiskey to each cup, and topped them off with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
As the passengers savored the steaming, aromatic concoction, one of them asked Sheridan if he was serving Brazilian coffee. Without missing a beat, Sheridan famously quipped, ‘No, that's Irish coffee.’
Puzzle Appearances
The expression Irish Coffee has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #121 on September 30, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
Explore More Expressions
Everyday the Wordcels Puzzle has a featured expression showing meaning, history and connection to culture. Explore them all.
The Wordcels Puzzle
Think you've mastered Americanisms? The two-word phrases, compound words and idiomatic expressions of American English? Each day the Wordcels Puzzle provides 15 words that must be arranged to form 16 expressions. Give it a try.
