A brew of whiskey and milk
One of the world’s best-selling and most famous cream liqueurs is Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur.
To produce this world-famous liqueur, at the beginning of this millennium, 275 million liters of milk were needed, supplied by about 1,500 Green Island farms with 450,000 dairy cows in their care.
Baileys even today it remains an Irish product, made in two companies in Dublin and Mallusk near Belfast in Northern Ireland.
The worldwide success story of this drink began in 1971, when the ancient and venerable Dublin Gin and Wine Gilbey’s the company’s managers were scratching their heads trying to create a typical Irish drink.
At the suggestion of director David Dand, the idea of combining the two most typical Irish products – milk and whiskey – was developed. At first, everyone was excited about this simple idea, but the result was neither visually pleasing nor really enjoyable – whiskey and milk did not hold together at all. However, the Irish men did not throw the plinth in the bushes until one of the greatest innovations of the last century in the history of alcoholic beverages was created. Normally, when cream is made from milk, the milk proteins are separated, but when this liqueur is made, they are added back to the cream. Substances that used to repel each other now bond – the mixture of triple distilled Irish whiskey, neutral alcohol and sweet cream is quite persistent. In addition, alcohol preserves the sweet cream. Therefore, the drink can be guaranteed to be stored for at least 24 months even if the bottle has been opened. This criterion is the challenge and the main condition of all cream liqueurs. Those manufacturers who have solved this are proud of the success stories in the market. Baileys can be prepared without preservatives. Vanilla, cocoa, sugar and caramel are also added to the liqueur.
With the soft sweet cream toffee taste, the Baileys team has hit the top ten. In 1974, the drink was offered to consumers. The next step was marketing. After five years Baileys sales had reached 12 million bottles.
In Dublin, this drink was such a success that additional deliveries of sweet cream had to be arranged. The farmers began to specialize in the production of sweet cream, raised Holstein Friesian cows, cultivated especially nutritious grasses, built barns and organized the work of dairies in such a way that they were able to supply the highest quality sweet cream throughout the year.
The next success of the brand is associated with an advertising campaign that was praised Baileys with ice – such a drink also appealed to the younger audience.
In the version Creme Caramel it has a nice caramel flavor, on the other hand Mint Chocolate there is a variant with the addition of dark chocolate and fresh mint.
Today, liqueurs Baileys usually enjoyed neat with ice. It goes well with coffee, Latté or hot chocolate.
Sweet cream with honey
Another famous Irish cream liqueur is Carolans Irish Cream. Fresh Irish sweet cream and Irish honey give the liqueur created in 1978 a thick consistency. It is produced in Clonmel, the so-called Honey Valley.
Both the honey and the sweet cream come from around County Tipperary. Liqueur is made by mixing neutral alcohol, Irish whiskey with sweet cream. The mixture is heated and homogenized using a special technology. It is also enriched with forest and clover honey and other flavors. The liqueur is named after the Irish composer Turlo O’Carolan, who traveled around Ireland as a blind bard in the 17th century.
German version with caramel
Cream liqueurs aren’t just an Irish thing. Popular liqueurs are also produced in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. One of the most famous German brands is Dooley´s Toffee Cream Liqueur.
for a medium-sized beverage production company located on the Baltic Sea coast Behn this sweet cream and vodka liqueur managed to achieve international success – it won more than one medal at international exhibitions.
This cream liqueur has a mild flavor achieved by combining low-fat cream with a moderate (17% vol.) alcohol content. The basis of alcohol is vodka – its modest aroma allows sweet cream and caramel to come to the fore.
Dooley´s tastes good both in cocktails and hot drinks.
Source: www.diena.lv
