Baileys Irish Cream

Baileys Irish Cream (the registered trade mark omits the apostrophe), is an Irish whiskey- and cream- based liqueur, made by R. J. Bailey & Co. of Dublin, Ireland. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Baileys was created by a team of people from IDV (International Distillers and Vintners) and a new product development company called I&D. The main people behind Baileys (Tom Jago and David Gluckman) have since gone on to create a host of other drinks and products including the highly successful 2004 launch of Jago's Cream Liqueur.

Baileys, as it is often known, was launched on November 26 1974, and claims to be the first of the cream liqueurs. There is much disagreement about this claim, but the drink has prompted several imitations. As of 2003, it is the highest-selling liqueur brand in the world.

In 2003, Bailey & Co. launched Baileys Glide, a less cloying, longer drink with 4.0% ABV, aimed at the alcopop market.

In 2004, a Bailey's commercial featuring a cover of the 1970s Minnie Riperton song Les Fleur was aired on TV.

In 2005, Bailey's launched a mint chocolate variant of their Irish Cream, with the same 17% alcohol content as the original.

Urban legend

During the eighties an urban legend took hold amongst students in the Netherlands and Belgium that the combination of Baileys and tonic was deadly. The two substances were supposed to solidify into a dense mass and clog up the entire bowel system. The ensuing constipation would entail certain death. But as it goes with urban legends, this rumour is heavily exaggerated.

Baileys is a liqueur made with cream. As is the case with milk, cream will curdle whenever it comes into contact with a weak acid. Milk and cream contain casein which coagulates when mixed with weak acids. This is why it is not advisable to mix the drink with Lime cordial. Tonic, like every carbonated drink, is a weak acid and will clot the casein. However, the gelatinous pudding that emerges from their union is far from lethal since it does not turn into a solid lump. It is this same process that makes Baileys the key ingredient in the "joke shot" known as a Cement Mixer.

The efforts of Baileys to unnerve this myth has been rather fruitless. Today many students still know the story and believe it to be true.

For an article in Dutch on the matter, visit TUD, the Technical University of Delft.

See also

• Irish coffee
• Irish cream

External links

• Official website

• Jago's A Cream Liqueur named after one of the creators of Baileys