Spice Up Your Next Irish Coffee With An Effortless Secret Ingredient

An integral part of a classic brunch is a delicious cocktail to go alongside it, and you can't do much better than a classic Irish coffee. One splash of strong, freshly brewed coffee (preferably medium roast), plus a little bit of Irish whiskey gets you a drink that can be an incredibly warming wake-up call. As great as the classic recipe already is, though, there's one ingredient that you can add to make it even better: cinnamon syrup.

Why cinnamon syrup in particular? The syrup can add a subtle spicy sweetness to further deepen the flavor of your Irish coffee. Additionally, the cinnamon can amplify the natural warmth of the whiskey, making a cinnamon syrup Irish coffee an especially good choice for those chilly mornings when you need something cozy before starting your day.

The best part is that you can easily make cinnamon-spiced simple syrup at home, with no need to go hunting at specialty stores! Simply simmer equal parts sugar and water with a few cinnamon sticks and a few drops of vanilla extract until the mixture thickens into a luscious syrup. Let it cool, then drizzle a spoonful or two into your Irish coffee before stirring. Have a taste — we think the result will speak for itself.

There are a few more upgrades that you can make to the drink if you want to turn it into the ultimate cinnamon-themed Irish coffee. Number one is topping the drink with a cloud of cinnamon whipped cream — just like with the syrup, you can make this at home pretty easily. All you need to do is combine heavy cream, a touch of brown sugar, and a generous pinch of ground cinnamon in a pot (you can add a bit of vanilla extract for a nicer aroma, too), then whisk everything up until they come together to form nice, foamy soft peaks. Scoop up the whipped cream with a spoon, and float it on top of the coffee.

To garnish, you can either do a sprinkle of cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, or nutmeg. Ground cinnamon is also on the card, but beware that since we've been adding quite a lot of cinnamon into the drink thus far, go easy on it. Finish with a vibrant maraschino cherry on top, or insert a stick of whole cinnamon into the coffee and you've got one super Instagrammable cinnamon Irish coffee ready to go. Sláinte!