Big Joe shares one of his favorite after-dinner drinks

Warmer weather here in New Jersey dictates cooler beverages. I think this cooler beverage may be in my top 10 of all-time adult beverages. This is a great brunch or after-dinner choice. Don’t make dessert, make my frozen Irish coffee.

New Orleans will always be a special place to me. I’ve been there many times and never for Mardi Gras, I’m not a fan of Mardi Gras. I like to go when the weather down there in the gulf state is manageable. Anyone who has been in New Orleans in August knows the weather temp and humidity are Congo hot.

The city has become an adopted sister home for me after Katrina. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast 17 years ago we loaded up a tractor-trailer filled with over 80,000 donated toys from our own generous people here in New Jersey. We grabbed the Big Yellow 101.5 van, some awesome volunteers, my Santa suit and hit the road. We had a Santaland and New Jersey volunteers working tirelessly in distributing toys and kindness to those ravaged by Katrina. Our purpose of concern was the welfare of the children of the area having a “normal” Christmas holiday with gifts and hope of a better time ahead. Every one of my friends on that trip stepped up to a level unheard of.

Another one of the many positive experiences that came out of our trip was a visit to a local New Orleans saloon, The Erin Rose. The first two days after arriving in New Orleans I was playing Santa and was wiped out after communicating with hundreds of kids, so after each long day I went back to my room and crashed. My team, however, with the stamina of world-class athletes, were on a mission to find a great saloon.

Boy did they ever! I kept hearing about their trip to The Erin Rose which was steps off of Bourbon Street. Every day my team would say, Big Joe, you have to go. On the third day, I went. The Erin Rose is on Conti Street and was at that time, home to many locals and one of the few saloons not affected by Katrina.

At The Erin Rose, they make a frozen Irish coffee that blew me away. It was in an ice cream maker and they blended coffee with brandy, because it’s less expensive, and served it up.

I was with my friend Tom Young, a Hall of Fame Bartender and he suggests putting a floater of Jameson’s whiskey on the top of the Irish coffee for an extra added kick. Well, after many of them, we all agreed that this was the best.

So in trying to recreate, and better, what the legendary Erin Rose has created here is my take on probably the best after-dinner drink you’ll ever have. Thanks to Tom Young for the consultation.

Big Joe’s Frozen Irish Coffee (A tribute to The Erin Rose)

Ingredients:

2 scoops of good vanilla ice cream
4 ounces of chilled brewed coffee (decaf if you don’t want the caffeine)
3 ½ ounces of Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 ounces of Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 ounce of Kahlua ½ cup of ice
2 dollops of whipped cream for topping
Squirt of green Crème de Menthe on top of whipped cream

How to put it together:

Add all ingredients except for the whipped cream and Creme de Menthe into a blender. Blend until smooth and then pour into frozen glass, top with whipped cream and Creme de Menthe and enjoy! Cheers.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.