Review: Baileys Irish Cream

Review: Baileys Irish Cream

Review: Baileys Irish Cream

We’ve written about so many special editions of Baileys “The Original Irish Cream” in the past, but the original has remained elusive for all these years.

Today we remedy that, with a review of perhaps the most essential of all Irish creams: Baileys. (Not “Bailey’s,” by the way.)

Baileys is described as “the perfect marriage of fresh, premium Irish dairy cream, the finest spirits, aged Irish whiskey, and a unique chocolate blend.” The devil’s in that second point: There are other spirits in Baileys aside from Irish whiskey, likely grain alcohol designed to give this a bit of a kick (and for less cash than whiskey would cost).

Baileys Irish Cream Review

There’s not a hell of a lot of whiskey flavor in Baileys, but it’s there — a vanilla and oak-soaked character that works well as a foil to the light chocolate and caramel notes, all whipped together with the milkiness of the cream.

Hey, at this point Baileys offers few surprises to the experienced drinker. It’s a standby for a reason — it does what it does reliably and consistently. Baileys tastes just fine, but all of those flavors are on the lighter side, gentle and uncomplicated and perhaps a bit staid. The good news is that Baileys doesn’t overdo it with the sugar, so while the finish sticks to the insides of your cheeks for longer than you might like, what’s left behind is cocoa-dusted, with just a kiss of whiskey.

Curious how long your Baileys will last? Here’s the scoop.

So cheers to that.

34 proof.

B+ / $19 / baileys.com [BUY IT NOW FROM THE WHISKY EXCHANGE] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Baileys Irish Cream

USD19
8.5

Rating

8.5/10
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A veteran journalist, the author of four books, a published poet, and an award-winning winemaker, Christopher Null has more than 25 years of experience writing about wine and spirits. He founded Drinkhacker in 2007. He also writes regularly about the science of booze for WIRED and is an occasional contributor to ADI's Distiller magazine. He has been a judge for both the American Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits and Whiskies of the World spirits competitions and often works as a consultant, developing formal tasting notes for spirits brands around the world.

3 Comments

  1. Jeremy D. Mann on December 15, 2018 at 2:19 pm

    This short review nails the taste. And thank you for pointing out the “other spirits.” I’d hadn’t thought to try grain alcohol though… makes sense. I’d focused on vodka. All the DIY recipes go nuts on the whiskey and it makes them taste terrible. There is simply not a big whiskey taste to Bailey’s… though it’s there if you look for it.

  2. Jerry on November 15, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    The new Baileys apple pie is so good its like Christmas in a bottle. Hope they plan on having it every year!!

  3. Denise beverley on September 7, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    Won’t be buying baileys original again not so thick and creamy,it’s more like one of the cheap bottles u can buy in Aldi and still £22 a bottle what a discrace

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