Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur (70cl, 17%)

Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur, an alcoholic drink flavoured with cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey. It is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Irish cream, invented by a team headed by Tom Jago in 1971 for Gilbeys of Ireland. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% by volume.

The formulation of Baileys was motivated partly by the availability of alcohol from a money-losing distillery (part of International Distillers & Vintners, and probably W&A Gilbey) and a desire to use surplus cream from another business, Express Dairies, owned by Grand Metropolitan, resulting from the increased popularity of semi-skimmed milk. It included alcohol, cream and the chocolate milk-based drink powder Nesquik produced by Nestle; the initial formulation process took approximately 45 minutes.

Baileys was introduced in 1974 as the first Irish cream on the market. The name is that of a restaurant owned by John Chesterman, who granted W&A Gilbey permission to use it. The fictional R.A. Bailey signature was inspired by The Bailey’s Hotel in London, though the registered trademark omits the apostrophe.

One of life’s most pleasurable indulgences, Baileys Original Irish Cream is the sweetest meeting of fine Irish whiskey and spirits, Irish dairy cream, rich chocolate and vanilla flavours. The result? Complete deliciousness. Drink neat over ice, shake into cocktails, drizzle over ice-cream, bake a Baileys-tastic cake – perhaps even share it if you have to – Baileys Original Irish Cream equals pure, unadulterated pleasure. Go on, you know you want to!