Irish Cream Liqueur

Irish Cream

 

Baileys Irish Cream is first created by the company known as Gilbeys of Ireland as the company struggled to find something to introduce to the International Market, it took them around three years (1971 – 1974) to invent Baileys Irish Cream. When it finally hit the international market it was the first 44% liqueur to use cream and alcohol together in a commercially stable distribution.

 

The process of manufacturing Baileys is complicated, cream and alcohol is homogenized to form an emulsion, with the help of vegetable oil, the alcohol in the product is made through a bacterial fermentation of whey. This process prevents the separation of the whiskey and cream during storage, the quantity of the other ingredients is unknown but the drink is known to contain chocolate, vanilla, caramel and sugar. The person attributed to the drink, Andrew Bailey of the R.A.

 

Bailey Company has in fact never existed and the choice of the name was simply based on branding. The current trademark is owned by Diageo, the holding company for a large amount of recognized alcohol brands such as Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, and others. Baileys can be compared to other cream liqueurs such as Amarula, Carolans and Sangsters, the beverage has a shelf life of 24 months and is recommended to be stored between 5 and 35 degrees Celsius or 41 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream and milk both share the property of curdle, or coagulate, whenever it comes in contact with a weak acid, which leads Baileys to not very often be mixed with lemon, tonic water, or wine, however, some cocktails specifically encourage coagulation as a part of the recipe.

 

In Belgium and the Netherlands an urban legend says that the combination of this Irish Cream and tonic water is lethal due to its coagulation. Baileys is best drunk by itself, over ice, as part of a cocktail, or mixed in coffee together with cream or sugar, Baileys coffee is a drink made by using a measure of Baileys in a cup of coffee which is then topped off with cream.