DOTD For Monday, November 10, 2025
An All-American Recreation Of An Irish Legend
Today’s DOTD - Drink Of The Day - is an Irish Coffee inspired by the uniquely American re-invention & eventual introduction of the drink to the world, which began on this date in 1952.
It was all thanks to the splendidly named Stanton Delaplane, an international travel writer & columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, who may have won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting, but whose best-known legacy remains an icon of 1960’s sophistication, the Irish Coffee.
Stanton Delaplane in 1975 at the Buena Vista
The historic venture started on the night of November 10, 1952. Jack Koeppler, then-owner of the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, challenged international travel writer Stanton Delaplane to help re-create a highly touted “Irish Coffee” drink then served at Shannon Airport in Ireland. Intrigued, Stan accepted Jack’s invitation, and the pair began to experiment immediately.
Throughout the night the two of them stirred and sipped judiciously and eventually acknowledged two recurring problems. The taste was “not quite right,” and the cream would not float. Stan’s hopes sank like the cream, but Jack was undaunted. The restauranteur pursued the elusive elixir with religious fervor, even making a pilgrimage overseas to Shannon Airport.
Upon Jack’s return, the experimentation continued. Finally, the perfect-tasting Irish whiskey was selected. Next, they shifted to the problem of the bottom-bent cream, taking their problem to San Francisco’s then-mayor, George Christopher, a prominent dairy owner (Also a Greek immigrant, and the last Republican elected mayor in San Francisco).
The three men - Koeppler, of German descent, Delaplane, of French descent, and Christopher, a Greek immigrant - discovered that when the cream was aged for 48 hours and frothed to a precise consistency, it would float as delicately as a swan on the surface of Jack & Stan’s special nectar. With the Irish recipe now remastered, a sparkling clear, six-ounce, heat-treated goblet was chosen as a suitable chalice, and the recipe was complete.
Soon after, Stan wrote up the entire story for the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Irish Coffee we all know & love began its history as one of the most famous coffee & alcohol drinks in the world.
It’s definitely the kind of drink that’s good for cold days and nights, like much of the U.S. is having today. So it’s the perfect choice to be today’s Drink Of The Day.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’re going to need for this drink:
