Irish cream liqueurs

While some of today’s liqueurs have their origins in past centuries, there are others that are uniquely 20th century creations. They are cream liqueurs. Irish cream liqueurs have a secret combination of two of Ireland’s national treasure: Irish whiskey and fresh dairy cream.

The first of these cream liqueurs was Baileys Original Irish Cream. Baileys Irish Cream originated in Ireland a blend of fresh cream and Irish whiskey and was stabilized so that it did not need refrigeration.

It took the makers of Baileys all of five years to develop a process that would keep the blend of fresh cream and Irish whiskey from separating in the bottle. It was the first liqueur to sue cream and alcohol together in manner sufficiently stable to allow commercial distribution. Launched in 1975, Bailey’s is now sold worldwide.

In 1979, the first cases were sent to the United States, Americans immediately took to its luscious creamy richness and soon sales of Baileys Original Irish Cream were leaving such traditional after-dinner favorites as Grand Marnier and Cointreau far behind.

Baileys Original Irish Cream ranks fifteenth in the world’s top 100 spirit brands and for 1992 it achieved profits of £102.6 million.
Irish cream liqueurs