There are a lot of not-so-great Irish coffees out there, lots are too sweet, too boozy, or just not well balanced. But Dublin's Chapter One changed that for me. I came home and started to try imitating their recipe, and this is my result Dublin-Style Irish Coffee Cocktail recipe.
Caramelize The Sugar: Heat a medium heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat. Grate the nutmeg into the pan then immediately sprinkle the brown sugar evenly across the pan. Carefully watch the pan as the sugar will begin to melt and caramelize.
Heat The Coffee: Once the sugar is caramelized, add a splash (say 2 to 3 tablespoons) of the hot coffee and swirl it around the pan. Move quickly for the next few steps: remove the pan from the heat then add the alcohol (off the heat) and carefully ignite it. Keep it off the heat and let the flame burn out. When the flame dies down, pour in the remainder of the hot coffee and swirl to mix.
Transfer the mixture to a glass and top with just-whipped cream. You want it to have a little texture so it will sit on the coffee, but not so much that it forms peaks.