Cocktails with Single cream/half-and-half
Single cream (UK) and half-and-half (US) are pourable dairy creams at 10–18% fat, used to enrich and lighten a drink rather than to whip.
Substitutes for Single cream/half-and-half
Fat is the only variable that matters: below about 30% nothing whips, and above it everything does. Diluting a heavier cream with milk hits any point on that scale, which makes this the easiest dairy swap on the station.
Often confused with
Two to three times the fat: 36% in the US, up to 48% in the UK, against 18%. The drink comes out denser and heavier, and in the shaker they whip into a foam single cream never gives — pour about a third less.
US half-and-half vs UK single cream
Half-and-half is thinner at 10.5–18%; UK single cream sits at the same 18%. The first leaves the drink watery at the same measure, the second swaps one for one.
Storage
A fresh, perishable dairy product — keep refrigerated and use before its date.
