This makes a great finale to a casual supper of chili or tortilla soup. Good quality bittersweet chocolates work well alongside.

For the best balance of flavors, choose a rich French or Italian roast coffee that can stand up to the assertiveness of brandy and rum.

Of course you can tweak the proportions of this heavenly brew to suit your taste, but I find a 50/50 mixture—plus plenty of whipped cream—just perfect.

There are dozens of versions Irish coffee, but mine stays true to the original, first popularized in the 1950s at San Francisco’s Buena Vista Cafe. Purists will tell you to use only top-quality whisky, and to sip the beverage through the cream, rather than stirring it up.