Baileys Irish Cream

What it is

Baileys Irish Cream is a liqueur made of cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey emulsified with vegetable oil. Baileys is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland, and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Irish cream, invented by a team headed by Tom Jago in 1971 for Gilbeys of Ireland; Diageo owns the trademark. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% by volume.

Key facts

What it is

trademark, alcohol brand source

Made by

Diageo source

Created

1974 source

Country of origin

Ireland source

Creator

Tom Jago source

In the maker's own words

Discover the premium quality of Baileys Original Irish Cream. Learn more about our history, find delicious drink recipes and explore the many tempting flavours.

From the world’s first cream liqueur to one of the world's most loved spirit, discover the Baileys brand story of our history, heritage and production values.

Origin and history

Baileys Irish Cream was created in London by advertising executive Tom Jago, working from a marketing brief issued by Gilbeys of Ireland, a division of International Distillers & Vintners. Gilbeys was searching for something to introduce to the international market. The process of finding a product began in 1971, and production research began in earnest after consultants David Gluckman, Hugh Seymour-Davies and Mac Macpherson came up with an alcoholic drink made of Irish whiskey and cream that, they remarked, "didn't taste punishing".

How it is made

Cream and Irish whiskey from various distilleries are homogenised to form an emulsion with the aid of an emulsifier containing refined vegetable oil. The process prevents the separation of alcohol and cream during storage. Baileys contains a proprietary cocoa extract recipe giving Baileys its chocolate character and essence.