The Frozen Irish Coffee has become a mainstay of the New Orleans cocktail scene, right up there with the Ramos Gin Fizz, French 75, Hurricane, and Sazerac. The creamy shake is a mix of brandy, coffee liqueur, whole milk, vanilla ice cream, and coffee (give or take some Irish whiskey). It’s poured from one of those big frozen daiquiri machines that you see all over the partying corners of the city — making it a delicious eye-opener.
Today, I’m going to teach you how to make this concoction just in time for the Mardi Gras celebrations kicking off this weekend and leading into the big day on Tuesday. The drink is a famed pour from Erin Rose and Molly’s at the Market, but you can find it other places around town these days. The thing is, most of us don’t have huge professional frozen daiquiri machines sitting on our home bars. That makes nailing this drink at home a bit tougher than usual but not impossible.
To get this right at home, you do need to do a little prep. Freezing your milk into ice cubes will really help you get that frothy and icy slushie vibe in what’s essentially a boozy coffee milkshake. But since more home freezers won’t do a deep freeze, you’ll never really get that deep creamy slushie texture that you get from a daiquiri machine. I can live with that slight textural adjustment since this drink is delightful, strong, and really feels like a party drink — or maybe that’s the caffeine flowing through me as I write this…?
Let’s dive in and make a Mardi Gras and New Orleans classic!
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Frozen Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
Makes 2 six-ounce drinks
- 1 oz. cognac
- 1 oz. Irish whiskey
- 1 oz. coffee liqueur
- 6 oz. frozen whole milk
- 2 oz. chilled espresso
- 2 oz. vanilla ice cream (1/4 cup)
- Coffee grounds (for garnish)
A lot of recipes call for brandy as the base booze, which is very NOLA. I like to split the difference with half brandy and half Irish whiskey as the base. I’m using standard stuff. Remy Martin VSOP and Jameson Black Barrel (their premiere mixing whiskey).
Kahlua is the obvious coffee liqueur to use. I have a bottle of St. George’s NOLA Coffee Liqueur open at the moment so I used that. Also, the New Orleans connection was too on point to not use that bottle.
The rest is pretty straightforward. I used the last of some Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream from the grocery store and a two-ounce single espresso pull from my espresso machine.
I also had some coffee grounds left from some Cafe Du Monde Coffee and Chickory blend so I used that as garnish. You can 100% use whatever coffee grounds you have on hand.
What You’ll Need:
- Highball glass (prechilled)
- Blender (or handmixer)
- Jigger
- Measuring cup
- Straw
Method:
- Add the frozen milk, chilled espresso, coffee liqueur, Irish whiskey, brandy, and ice cream to your blender. Pulse a couple of times to break up the milk ice cubes. Then blend on high until a smooth, thin milkshake forms (about 10 to 15 seconds).
- Grab a glass from the freezer and pour the drink into it.
- Sprinkle fresh coffee grounds over the top and drop in a straw. Serve.
Bottom Line:
This had a great amped-up coffee taste that was super creamy. The texture of the shake was on the smooth/creamy side instead of the grainy/slushie side of things (again, no slushie machine on hand). Think of it like an ultra-creamy yet frothy thin milkshake. You could add some shaved ice if you’re really jonesing for that slushie texture, but you’ll be watering this down too much in my humble opinion.
The booziness was on point and felt just strong enough to feel it but still balanced with the bitterness/nuttiness of the coffee and the creamy sweetness of the ice cream. This was … a little dangerous since it went down too easily (like most adult milkshakes). It also provided a nice caffeine kick with booze which is always a heightened experience.
All of that is to say, it’s the perfect weekend to try this at home, especially if you’re celebrating Mardi Gras early with your crew. This will get you hyped!
