Name: Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 43 min
Ingredients: ¼ Cup Water; ¼ Cup Dark Brown Sugar; ½ Cup Heavy Cream; 4 Teaspoons Irish Cream Syrup; 8 Ounces Black Coffee (Cold); 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar Simple Syrup; ¼ Cup Irish Whipped Cream; Chocolate Sprinkles or Sweetened Cocoa Powder

Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail is an iced, cold black coffee, sweetened with brown sugar syrup, with a float of Irish Cream flavored cream.

This Irish coffee recipe is slightly sweet and deliciously creamy and non-alcoholic, but several tipsy versions are listed in the variations of this recipe.

Portrait view of a tall, iced, black coffee is sweetened with dark brown sugar and topped with fluffy Irish cream flavored whipped cream.

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Do you miss Starbuck's Irish Cream Cold Brew Coffee? I know I do! But this is not a copycat recipe of that famous drink. Instead, it more closely resembles a cold version of a true Irish Coffee, just without the alcohol.

Jump to:

What is an Irish Coffee?
What is a Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew Coffee?
About This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
How to Make an Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail
My Top Tips
Variations and Substitutions
More Delicious Drinks You'll Love
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

What is an Irish Coffee?

A true Irish Coffee is made by placing two sugar cubes in a 6-ounce goblet, followed by adding 3 ½ ounces of hot brewed coffee, and a generous shot of Irish whiskey. The cocktail is then topped with a float of heavy cream poured gently over the back of a spoon. Yumm!

If you visit San Francisco, a "must-see" is The Buena Vista which is at the bottom of Hyde Street near the cable car turn-around. The BV is a world-famous landmark and where the American version of Irish Coffee was invented in 1952.

Seriously, this is the best Irish Coffee, hands down, I have ever had. Years ago, I worked just down the street on Hyde for a small food service company, and my colleagues and I would go to lunch at The BV. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was truly a marvel to see the bartender make dozens of Irish Coffees in quick succession!

What is a Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew Coffee?

A Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew is made with:

cold brewed coffee sweetened with Irish cream syrup
Vanilla Sweet Cream (heavy cream, sweetened, and flavored with vanilla)
dusting of cocoa powder.

So, the very first time I had a Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew, I couldn't help but compare it to the famous hot version at The BV. Whiskey aside, both versions have sweetened coffee and both versions have a float of heavy cream. Oh, and of course, The BV version is hot and the Starbucks Irish Cream is ice cold.

About This Recipe

This Irish cream iced coffee mocktail is a fusion recipe between a true Irish Coffee and a Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew Coffee. It has the flavor of Irish Cream but contains no alcohol.

I created this recipe based on how I wanted my Irish coffee mocktail to taste. I didn't want an exact copycat recipe and I wanted the coffee to be slightly sweet with butterscotch overtones and the cream to be sweet but not too sweet. Lastly, it needed to taste delicious cold or hot.

My version begins with a 10 to 12-ounce glass filled with ice. Next, I mix 2 tablespoons of brown sugar simple syrup with cold black coffee and pour it over the ice. Lastly, I spoon the Irish Cream on top of the coffee, where it will float for about 10 minutes. As the cream sits atop the coffee, it will begin to ooze down into the drink.

So, simply put, we have brown sugar simple syrup, dark brewed cold coffee, and a soft float of Irish Cream. Are you ready to make the best coffee drink ever? Great!

So, let's cook!

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients, clockwise from top right: brewed black coffee, heavy cream, chocolate sprinkles, Irish cream syrup, dark brown sugar.

For this Irish Coffee Mocktail recipe, you will need:

Dark Brown Sugar - You will be making a simple syrup with dark brown sugar and water. Dark brown sugar will give rich caramel flavors to the coffee and by using a simple syrup you will avoid a gloopy, sludge of sugar in the bottom of a glass of cold coffee.
Water - Use tap or plain bottled water.
Black Brewed Coffee - You can use any black coffee in this recipe if it is cooled down or cold. I have used drip-brewed, French press, instant espresso, and, of course, cold brew. Each of these methods of making coffee will give you a delicious result. Just be sure the coffee is cool before you add it to your glass of ice and brown sugar simple syrup.
Heavy Cream - Heavy cream will float on the top of the coffee. Do not substitute single or light cream.
Irish Cream Flavored Syrup - This is the secret to getting that famous "Irish Cream Flavor".

Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.

How to Make an Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail

Making Brown Sugar Simple Syrup Collage of Process Photos

Make Brown Sugar Simple Syrup. Put the water and dark brown sugar into a small saucepan. Over medium heat, stir the brown sugar and water solution until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. The brown sugar simple syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Making Irish Cream Flavored Heavy Cream Collage of Process Photos

Make Irish Cream Flavored Heavy Cream. Pour cold heavy cream and Irish cream syrup into a small bowl. Use a whisk or a small fork and whip the cream just until it is thickened. The cream will be thickened when it falls slowly off a spoon and creates soft shapes.

Assembling an Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail Collage of Process Photos

Assemble the Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail. Mix the cold coffee with two tablespoons of brown sugar simple syrup and pour over ice in a tall glass. Spoon 3 to 4 heaping tablespoons of the Irish Cream on top of the coffee. If desired, garnish with chocolate sprinkles or sweetened cocoa powder.

Square image of two iced coffees that are topped with whipped cream. A half-filled French press coffee maker is in the background. A peach bowl with traces of whipped cream is in the foreground.

My Top Tips

♡ Make Everything in Advance. Make each of the components of this recipe, the coffee, the brown sugar simple syrup, and the Irish cream in advance. Keep them in the refrigerator until you want a coffee and then you can make an Irish Cream Coffee quickly, anytime you want.

♡ Other Uses for Brown Sugar Syrup. The brown sugar simple syrup recipe makes ½ cup of syrup, which is enough for 4 drinks. You might like your coffee a little sweeter. So, I scaled the recipe for the syrup to be generous. Left-over brown sugar simple syrup is delicious over French toast, pancakes, or waffles!

Variations and Substitutions

Add Whiskey - This Irish cream beverage does not have any liquor, but of course, it would be very delicious if you add your favorite whiskey. Simply add your chosen whiskey to the sweetened black coffee and before you add the Irish cream topping.

Add Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur - If you want to amp up the coffee flavor in this drink, just add a shot of Kahlúa and you have a super delicious variation of a Black Russian cocktail.

A hot coffee beverage in a footed mug topped with lightly whipped cream. A french press coffee maker is half full with coffee in the background.

Make It Hot - Instead of pouring cold coffee over ice, use hot coffee and a heatproof mug. For the hot version, you might consider whipping the cream a little longer so that the cream forms soft peaks. This lets the Irish cream float a little easier on top of the hot coffee.

Substitute More Irish Cream Syrup - The coffee will have a bolder Irish Cream flavor if you add a couple of tablespoons of the Irish cream flavored syrup to the coffee instead of the brown sugar simple syrup.

Two iced coffees with a whipped cream topping and chocolate sprinkles. A French press coffee maker is in the background and a peach colored bowl with tracings of whipped cream is in the foreground.

More Delicious Drinks You'll Love

♡ Did you love this Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail? Please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how things went in the ✍ comments below. Thanks for visiting!

Irish Cream Iced Coffee Mocktail