LUCK OF THE IRISH
Maenner Chor takes first place in Hibernians Irish Coffee Contest
Are they bartenders? Are they baristas?
When it comes to the art of mixing whiskey, coffee and cream to create the potent concoction known as Irish coffee, it probably helps to be a little of both.
But it was the crackerjack bartenders from the Norristown Maenner Chor Club that scored first place in the 12th Annual Irish Coffee Contest at the Ancient Order of Hibernians Notre Dame Hall in Swedesburg.
“Our bartenders have always been our strength at the club, so I don’t see how we could lose,” noted Maenner Chor Club vice president Steve McMonigle.
The bartenders and creators of the award-winning Maenner Chor blend are McMonigle’s sons Stephen and Dan, who manned the club’s elaborately decorated booth that colorfully touted the blessings of Irish smiles and helped the club walk away with top honors of the night.
“The displays count too,” noted contest judge Pete Hand. “Sometimes there will be a tie with two or three coffees, but someone’s display will put them over the top.”
As the challenger receiving the most votes from the judges, the Norristown Maenner Chor Club earned a plaque and a float position in Saturday’s
St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Conshohocken, Hand said.
Other contenders in the contest included secondplace winner Bridgeport Rib House; third-place winner Bridgeport Elks Lodge 714; Swedesburg Fire Company; Conshy Girls catering; Guppy’s Good Times and Goodwill Fire Co.
Stephen McMonigle happily divulged a bit of the recipe that got the Irish blood percolating in the panel of judges, made up of Tommy O’Donnell, the grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Parade, and seven former grand marshals.
“Last year we were the runner-up, and we
changed it a little, going back to the original Irish coffee recipe without trying to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We added a few things to make it a little different … We used Bailey’s and the whipped cream is handmade. We also dialed back on the cinnamon, but it’s still in there,” Stephen McMonigle noted.
The lore of Irish coffee dates back to the hospitality of a chef in Ireland who turned to a whiskeycoffee-cream combo to warm up his guests on a cold stormy night in the 1940s.
The drink made its way to the U.S. a decade later and has been a staple of tavern menus and the subject of countless tweaks and competitions over the years.
“The judging is based on a combination of presentation and taste,” noted judge Rae Dispaldo. “The judges have no idea who the coffee belongs to. When the coffee come to us it’s only a number and we have no idea what the ingredients are.”
O’Donnell said he didn’t consider himself an expert on the complexity of Irish Coffee.
“I’m a consumer,” he quipped. “I don’t have high expectations about it. If it tastes really good I’ll like it.”
Conshy Girls catering was the lone newcomer on board this year.
“We weren’t sure what to expect so we went with a fully Irish theme, with the Dubliner whiskey and Kerrygold Irish cream,” noted Sarah Pinard, bar manager at Southern Cross, one of the Conshy Girls Restaurant Group’s locations. “We used homemade whipped cream and edible shamrocks, to make it very approachable.”
Pinard, who created the recipe, added a little honey to sweeten things up.
“It was a lot of fun … a really good community event and it was good to be part of that,” she said. “We’re planning on coming back next year.”