Baileys Original (700 ml)

Baileys Original Irish Cream was created in 1974 by Tom Jago and David Gluckman in Dublin — the first commercially successful marriage of Irish whiskey and fresh dairy cream, a combination the drinks industry at the time considered technically unstable. The solution was an emulsification process that locks cream and spirit together without refrigeration, a proprietary method that remains the production signature today.

The cream is sourced from Irish dairy herds, with milk processed within 48 hours of collection — a supply-chain constraint that ties the liquid directly to the Irish agricultural calendar. The base spirit is a blend of Irish whiskey and neutral grain spirit, combined with cocoa and vanilla extracts before emulsification. Bottled at 17% ABV, the alcohol itself acts as the preservative, giving a two-year shelf life unopened.

What separates Baileys from most cream liqueurs is scale without compromise on fresh dairy: over 200 million litres of Irish milk are used annually, yet the 48-hour farm-to-factory rule has never been relaxed. The result is a liqueur with genuine dairy weight rather than the cooked or powdered texture common in cheaper category entries.