You may have noticed it’s cold outside. Unfortunately, it will continue to be cold for the foreseeable future. But, as hearty Wisconsinites tend to do, we’ve concocted various solutions to help warm the insides during the depths of winter — and borrowed one from across the Atlantic.
As the legend goes, Irish coffee sprung from the mind of Joe Sheridan, a chef at the town of Foynes airport in southwest Ireland. Faced with a gaggle of cold, wet and weary travelers in 1943, he spiked coffee with whiskey, topped it with whipped cream and served it to his customers.
About a decade later, travel writer Stanton Delaplane encountered the belly-warming beverage and brought the idea to the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco. The cafe, in turn, brought Sheridan to the States so he could serve a truly authentic Irish coffee to the masses.
Now, cafes, restaurants and watering holes across the country — particularly ones in climates such as ours — offer Irish coffee to its guests as a way to weather the chillier months. And we want to give you a little bit of a push out the door so you can visit some of the places around the area that put their own spin on Irish coffee.
In a transatlantic partnership with the folks from Slane Irish Whiskey, we’re bringing you a passport you don’t need to wait weeks to get in the mail. No filling out paperwork. No taking an uncomfortable photo. Just a simple item you can slip into your pocket as you get a taste of Ireland at some of the finest establishments right here in southeastern Wisconsin.
From Jan. 25 (National Irish Coffee Day, by the way) to Feb. 25, we’re encouraging you to bundle up — preferably with some of your chillest friends — and try a few different takes on Irish coffee. Here are all the places you can go to pick up a passport and start your journey:
- Agency
- BSG Coffee & Cocktails Lounge in Grafton
- Discourse Coffee Workshop
- Don's TV & Repair
- Hawthorne Coffee Roasters
- The Ivanhoe Pub & Eatery in Racine
- McAuliffe's Pub in Racine
- McBob's
- Movida at Hotel Madrid
- Ray's Bar in Wauwatosa
- SportClub
- Station 1846
- Tee Time Social in Hales Corners
- Vennture Brew Co. in Brookfield
- Vennture Brew Co. in Milwaukee
- West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe in West Allis
- The Wolf on Broadway
As you make your way around, please be sure to tip generously, drink responsibly and transport yourself safely.
Brown-Forman, which distributes Slane Irish Whiskey, is a proud partner of Radio Milwaukee.
