Though this is a cheap beer blog, we don’t think anyone will be too upset if we occasionally talk about some of our other favorite alcoholic drinks. And today we are longing for an Irish coffee at the best place in the United States to have one: the Buena Vista at the end of the Hyde Line in San Francisco.
While the Buena Vista is responsible for bringing the drink to the United States, the Irish coffee itself dates back to an airport bar in Foynes, Ireland, in World War II.
Located on the southwest coast of Ireland, Foynes was a major hub for transatlantic flights, including flying boats that could dock at the waterfront, during the war years. In 1942 or 43, Brendan O’Regan opened a bar and restaurant with Joe Sheridan serving as the chef. It was at this bar that the Irish coffee came into being.
On a particularly stormy night, a group of American passengers were stranded at the airport. While everything else was closed, the O’Regan’s bar stayed open for the Americans. Cold and tired, the passengers asked for something warm. In response, Sheridan whipped up a coffee with cream and whiskey. And, as legend has it, one of the Americans asked, “Is this Brazilian coffee?” to which Sheridan replied, “No, it’s Irish coffee.”
Sheridan’s Irish coffee quickly became a staple at the bar and restaurant. After the war, the airport closed its doors. But O’Regan moved the establishment, along with Sheridan and his Irish coffee, across the Shannon River to the new Shannon airport.
The Irish coffee made its way to the United States and the Buena Vista by way of a newspaper reporter, Stanton Delaplane. He returned to the United States and his favorite bar, the Buena Vista, from Shannon with fond memories of an Irish coffee he had before departure. At the San Fran establishment, Delaplane told Jack Koeppler, the owner about the drink. And the two immediately began trying to perfect the recipe.
Though the pair were never able to perfect the recipe – they supposedly could not get the cream right – Koeppler was not to be deterred. He offered Joe Sheridan a job bartending at the Buena Vista. Sheridan accepted in 1952 and, as they say, the rest is history as the Buena Vista’s Irish coffee soon became legendary.
I have fond memories of sitting at the Buena Vista with my parents and their friends as a kid, watching them put away Irish coffees. And I have a long history drinking them at the bar myself. But I have not been inside the Buena Vista since January 2020. So, I think it is time to get back there. And if you find yourself in San Fran, be sure to check out a Buena Vista Irish coffee for yourself!
