Cocktails with Irish cream liqueur
Irish cream liqueur is an opaque cream liqueur of Irish whiskey and dairy cream, usually with chocolate and vanilla flavors. Baileys is the original.
ABV15–20%
How it's used
At 15 ml it adds sweet, creamy weight and turns a drink opaque; at 25–30 ml it becomes the main flavor. It is a standard layer in shots such as the B-52 Shot. Coffee, chocolate and vanilla suit it. Keep it away from citrus and anything acidic, which curdles the cream.
Substitutes for Irish cream liqueur
Wine-based cream liqueur
Often sold as country cream, it takes the same amount but is weaker, with no whiskey flavor.
Homemade Irish cream
Blend 240 ml heavy cream with 180 ml Irish whiskey and a 400 g can of sweetened condensed milk. Add a teaspoon each of instant coffee and vanilla extract and half a teaspoon of cocoa. It works one for one everywhere except layered shots, though at about 10% it is weaker. It keeps about two weeks in the fridge.
On the label
- "Irish cream"
- A protected name in the EU: the product has to be made in Ireland, on Irish whiskey and Irish dairy. Other cream liqueurs cannot use it.
