I love a traditional Irish coffee in the winter, but when the weather is warm, a steaming cocktail isn’t quite as appealing. Enter the Iced Irish Coffee—a refreshing summer spin on the classic.

Cold brew takes the place of hot coffee here. You can certainly purchase prepared cold brew, but I like to make my own, particularly because I can make it decaffeinated. That makes this an ideal after-dinner drink without wondering if I’ll still be awake hours later. I have a recipe for Cold Brewed Coffee on Riegl Palate, and it’s surprisingly easy to make.

For the Irish portion, Jameson is our Irish whiskey of choice. I pair it with Five Farms Irish Cream, which has become my go-to Irish cream. Baileys will certainly work, but if you haven’t tried Five Farms, I highly recommend seeking it out.

The Irish cream does double duty by adding both creaminess and just enough sweetness, eliminating the need for sugar or simple syrup. I add a little milk as well—Fairlife 2% is my preference since it’s slightly thicker than regular milk and works beautifully here. Cream or half-and-half would be lovely, too.

My version uses equal amounts of Irish whiskey and Irish cream. Ed thought it could use a bit more whiskey (not entirely surprising), so feel free to increase the whiskey from one ounce to an ounce and a half if you’d like a stronger drink.

Serve it over plenty of ice in a double old fashioned or double rocks glass. The cocktail itself is about six and a half ounces, so you’ll want a glass with enough room for both the drink and ice.

Flavor-wise, I’d put this somewhere between a traditional Irish coffee and an espresso martini—creamy, coffee-forward and slightly sweet, but served casually over ice rather than up.

It makes a lovely after-dinner drink and an equally good alternative to dessert. Although I’m not going to tell you what time of day you should drink your coffee.

Looking for a more traditional Irish Coffee, try my Nutty Irish Coffee recipe.