Few liqueurs are as versatile as Baileys Irish Cream. Combining elements of caramel,
chocolate, and vanilla, it's equally good in coffee, desserts, or with some Irish whiskey.
This is what you need to know the next time you reach for some Baileys.
Baileys got its start in 1973 thanks to the product development work of David Gluckman
after he played a role in developing Kerrygold butter. The International
Distillers & Vintners Company had given Gluckman and his business partner Hugh
Reade Seymour-Davies a brief to develop a new drink option for exporting from Ireland.
The two decided that they wanted to explore the idea of celebrating Ireland's dairy industry.
And what better way to do so than by mixing Irish dairy with Irish whiskey?
The first experimental batch mixed a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey with a tub of cream.
Over time, the recipe was improved to include sugar, along with the flavor of chocolate from
Cadbury's powdered drinking chocolate. The recipe was finalized with that addition of chocolate,
as it added the perfect element to balance out the whole concoction.
When it comes to drinks like Baileys, it's important to note that liquors and liqueurs
are not the same thing. Liquors, also known as spirits, hard alcohol, or distilled beverages,
typically don't have any sugar added to the final product. And often, with many liquors
such as bourbon, Irish whiskey, and scotch, there are very specific rules regarding additives to
the final product. Last but not least, liquor has a much higher alcohol content. It ranges
depending on the spirit, but they typically hover at 40 to 50 percent alcohol by volume.
Liqueurs, meanwhile, are characterized by the addition of sweetness. A liquor is used as the
base, which has already been distilled, and then additional flavors and sugars are added,
usually making the liqueur top out at a lower alcohol by volume.
Liqueurs are often mixed into a cocktail or enjoyed neat or on the rocks.
Baileys stemmed from the idea of combining Irish cream with Irish whiskey.
David Gluckman and his partners wanted to celebrate the Irish dairy industry.
Adding whiskey, another major Irish export, was a great way to do it. After all, Jameson had been
producing Irish whiskey since 1780, and it was responsible for a huge chunk of export sales.
If you're going to center a product around Irish cream, it's absolutely essential to have
a good source for that cream. Luckily, there are 18,000 dairy farmers in Ireland to choose from,
cumulatively producing more than 8 billion liters of milk each year.
Baileys is made from milk that comes from cows across Ireland. Each year,
close to 200 million liters of milk are required to make the cream that is turned into Baileys.
And to get the best cream, Baileys hand-selects family-run farms across the country to work with.
There are countless liqueur brands out there, but despite all that competition,
Baileys Irish Cream continues to win the title of the best-selling liqueur year after year. In 2017,
for example, Spirits Business reported that Baileys was the number one best-selling
liqueur for 2016. From 2015 to 2016, the brand showed a 1.59 percent increase in case sales,
and that number rose even higher with a 2.6 percent increase from 2017 to 2018.
Coming in with 7.1 million case sales in 2018, Baileys continued to hold the ranking
for the best-selling liqueur brand. With the release of Spirit Business' ranking for 2020,
the brand was still holding strong with the number one spot with 7.4 million cases sold.
When Baileys was developed, the whole point was to come up with a spirit that
would become Ireland's newest popular export. So considering that it consistently tops the charts
as the most popular liqueur in the world, it's safe to say: job well done. Ironically enough,
though, it was initially pretty difficult to find a distributor in the United States
to take Baileys on in their portfolio. Once a distributor was finally found,
they were skeptical about the sales, but the product nevertheless ended up taking off.
Just five years after the launch of Baileys, over one million cases were being sold each year. As of
2015, 82 million bottles of Baileys were being exported to more than 180 countries annually.
"Baileys and friends: let's do this again."
There are a few key laws when it comes to making, bottling, and selling alcoholic drinks. Obviously,
it has to be bought by a consumer of appropriate age and it must be sold from a legal vendor.
All alcoholic products must also be sold with a label that distinguishes the class
that the product belongs to. And one of the other key components that's required is the
address of the producer so that consumers know where the spirit is coming from.
That rule has been around a long time, but when Baileys was developed in 1973,
David Gluckman decided to simply disregard it for the first bottle and move forward.
When the product was ready to launch, and Gluckman found a bottle to utilize,
an address was needed for the label. So "The Dairy Distillery, County Monaghan" was added to
the very first label, but as Gluckman confirmed to The Irish Times, it was a total fabrication.
The story behind how products came to be can be incredibly fascinating, and so can the
history behind the product's name. But that's not necessarily the case for Baileys Irish Cream. In
fact, the name initially really had no relevance at all. David Gluckman and Reade Seymour-Davies
shared an office in London near a restaurant named Baileys Bistro. When they were trying to
figure out a name for their new beverage, Gluckman kept seeing the sign for Baileys and referring
back to it. The duo had talked about wanting to come up with an "Anglo-Irish" name so it sounded
more approachable as a family name, but that was the only requirement they had at the time.
Baileys was the first name that was pitched for the new creamy liqueur,
and it was the only one that stuck. The final name of "Baileys Irish Cream" debuted later,
with no actual ties to inspiration coming from Ireland whatsoever. Nevertheless,
it's managed to become an iconically Irish product.
At the time that Baileys Irish Cream was created, the recipe came somewhat
by the seat of the producer's pants. David Gluckman and Reade Seymour-Davies whipped
up the recipe in a matter of 45 minutes with just a few tweaks along the way.
Was it possible that developing a global spirits brand in under an hour could really be that great?
The idea of mixing cream with alcohol wasn't something brands were doing often,
and it seemed to be a bit of a turn-off for some people. The brand Gilbeys of Ireland, which was
looking for a new product, sampled Baileys after multiple recipe revisions to get it just right.
Once Baileys moved forward in its development and production process, it was time for the
company to find someone to actually sell it. As Gluckman recounted to Inside the Cask,
the CEO of the International Distillers & Vintners Company took a bottle of Baileys to New York to
meet with a well-known and successful distributor. But alas, with one sip, the distributor was
certain that Baileys would never sell. Of course, considering the popularity of that liqueur today,
that turned out to very much not be the case. Gluckman remembered that moment of doubt,
and it even served as the inspiration for the title of his book, That S--t Will Never Sell.
The history of Baileys all started with that first recipe that paired Irish whiskey with
cream and chocolate. That coveted recipe has gone on to live quite the popular life.
But it hasn't remained all by its lonesome. Along the way, so many other flavors of
Baileys have been introduced throughout the years to diversify the tasty portfolio.
For example, in 2019 Baileys unveiled a red velvet cupcake edition. It was created in collaboration
with Georgetown Cupcakes to offer a sip of a classic sweet pastry in beverage form. Diving
even further into desserts, an apple pie-flavored Baileys debuted in August 2020 as a kick-off to
fall. The creamy liqueur offers flavors of apple pie, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and spice. And
if you're looking for even more sweetness, Baileys also debuted Strawberries & Cream to its line-up
back in 2018. The fruity and creamy pink drink was tested in the United States that year and became
a more permanent flavor on the roster in 2019. Other Baileys flavors over the years have included
everything from chocolate cherry and salted caramel to espresso creme and pumpkin spice.
It's safe to assume that when most people who follow a vegan diet see a product with cream as
the main ingredient like Baileys, they decide that it's definitely not for them. But as it turns out,
Baileys had vegan customers in mind when developing its almond milk flavor.
Baileys Almande was introduced in 2017. When it launched, the company boasted that it was
gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Alas, the initial debut of the product mistakenly
included beeswax in its ingredients list, which Baileys apologized for quickly and then
they relaunched iit with a truly certified vegan product. The drink is now made from almond milk,
allowing the flavors of almond and vanilla to shine through,
while still offering a creamy liqueur for those following a vegan or dairy-free diet.
The story behind Baileys Irish Cream is certainly unique in terms of how the product was intended to
be developed. But it was hardly a one-hit wonder for its creator. With David Gluckman having
product development experience under his belt and with Baileys easily being his biggest success,
it's no wonder that he has other feathers in his cap. It turns out that he was also responsible
for developing a number of other spirits brands including Tanqueray Ten Gin and Smirnoff Black.
Baileys now lives under the Diageo Brands umbrella, which is one of the largest
spirits and beer companies in the world. Baileys sits right alongside Tanqueray in the lineup,
and that's not the only major spirits brand in the family. The company also
owns top beer and spirits like Johnnie Walker, Aviation Gin, and Guinness Beer, among others.
If you have a delicious liqueur, with flavors of cream, chocolate, and a hint of whiskey, it can be
the perfect drink for sipping with your dessert. A glass on the rocks is certainly a treat, but
whipping up a dessert with Baileys right in the recipe could make for an even better experience.
Because of its creamy texture, Baileys lends itself quite well to desserts. Obviously,
the chocolate flavor also tends to help. It's the perfect addition for cheesecake,
for example. Mixing cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, and Baileys can
produce the most delicious cheesecake topping without too much of the alcohol coming through.
Another tasty way to switch up a recipe is including Baileys in your French toast mixture, or
you could even make a chocolate Baileys cupcake by swapping out the milk in the mixture for Baileys.
"Wait a minute. Am I eating brunch or is this a cocktail?"
"Who cares? It's delicious."
With all of the uses for this signature liqueur, it definitely seems like Baileys would come in
handy for so many great recipes. And if you like the idea of keeping things in your kitchen
that are entirely made from scratch, you should know that you can make your own Baileys Irish
Cream at home. Since Baileys is basically a mixture of Irish whiskey, heavy cream,
and chocolate, mixing those ingredients can easily result in a delicious homemade version,
with a few additional ingredients in the mix. While Baileys is obviously made with Irish
whiskey, another type of whiskey will work if that's the only option you have on hand.
To make your own Baileys, simply mix heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk,
your favorite Irish whiskey, chocolate syrup, strong coffee, and vanilla extract together.
You can mix the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, or throw it all in the blender.
Once your Irish cream is well blended, put it in a sealed container and keep it
in the fridge between uses. And then, get to drinking that sweet, sweet homemade Baileys!
"To good friends."
"And epic adventures."
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