National Irish Coffee Day

If you went by the crowd-sourced genius volume of all-things-true known as Wikipedia, you'd believe that the first Irish coffee was "...conceived after a group of American passengers disembarked from Pan Am flying boat on a miserable winter evening in the 1940's." I'll admit that Wiki's answer is pretty, it has a lovely feel and I'd love to believe that some wry, Irish character tailored the first Irish coffee out of kindness and inspiration, but for me the doesn't pass the smell test.

The problem I have is that it's easy to find similar drinks made with other alcohols which are much older than the proposed birthday of the Irish coffee. For an example, in 1888 a bar tending book called the New and Improved Illustrated Bartender's Manual printed the following recipe:

At it's root, Soldier's Camping Punch represents the theme of all coffee drinks. It features strong, sweet coffee mixed with high-proof liquor. In the case of the punch the two liquors involved are rum and brandy, but it it's hardly a stretch to imagine a barkeep or host substituting whatever high-proof liquor of modest vintage was at hand. Sure, the fabled Joe Sheridan may have been the first to record the recipe, but the inspiration surely came from one of a slew of existing bar tender's favorites.

Regardless, Happy Irish Coffee Day. Pour yourself a strong one, drink to good ole' Joe, and watch the snowflakes fly. It's good to be warm inside and out.

1885 - A Christmas Song

Holiday wishes from the December 26, 1885 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine.

The Coming Frost

 Here's a little poem from the November 14 1885 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine heralding the wonders of the first frost.

Candy of the Day - Candy Corn

There is one candy that comes out every Halloween and inspires dread in my heart. It has polluted every trick-or-treat bag I’ve ever spent an evening filling. The name of this horrid little confection is candy corn. Lately the madness has expanded. Not only are there candy pumpkins (just bigger candy corn) as well as candy corn colored to allow it to invade other holidays. If we don’t stop candy corn it will push out the native candies of all of our holidays. There won’t be any jelly beans, candy canes, gum drops, chocolate kisses, or valentine hears – there only will be candy corn.

Okay, now that my rant is done here are a few facts about candy corn as gleaned from Better Homes Magazine:

"According to oral tradition, George Renninger, a candymaker at the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia, invented the revolutionary tri-color candy in the 1880s. The Goelitz Confectionery Company brought the candy to the masses at the turn of the 20th century. The company, now called Jelly Belly Candy Co., has the longest history in the industry of making candy corn -- although the method has changed, it still uses the original recipe."