Got a minute? That’s about how long it takes to make a batch of homemade Bailey’s-style Irish Cream liqueur. Making a cream liqueur like this is easy, economical and once you try it, you’ll never go back to store-bought. A plus is that you can control the ingredients. You can ease up on the almond or vanilla extract, go heavy on the chocolate syrup, or lighten the sugar and/or fat content if you’re watching calories.
Homemade Bailey’s-style Irish Cream Liqueur
I found most recipes called for Irish whiskey as the base liquor but some used vodka, and most recipes used sweetened condensed milk versus evaporated milk + sugar as the sweet/thickening agent. I riffed on a recipe by Manuela Zangara who, like me I’m sure, surfed for recipe and found one she liked. Manuela makes her own chocolate syrup but I purchased all of my ingredients from a store. Once you have the ingredients, making the liqueur is as fast as pouring them all in a blender and whirring for 30 seconds.
Irish Cream Liqueur
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 2/3 cup (400 ml) Irish Whiskey
- 1 tsp espresso or instant coffee
- 2 tbsp chocolate syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a blender, whir on high speed for 30 seconds. Pour into sealable bottles, store in fridge. Should keep for up to 2 weeks.
You can get creative in choosing your base liquor—I experimented with three whiskies I had on hand: Jameson Irish Whiskey, Irish Mist liqueur and Amrut Indian Single Malt whisky. I also made a calorie reduced Irish liqueur using Jameson whiskey but with low-fat, sweetened condensed milk (1.5 g fat per 2 tbsp) instead of regular (3 g fat per 2 tbsp) and half and half cream (10% butter fat) instead of full whipping cream (33%). I was curious to see the difference not only in flavour profiles by using different whiskeys, but in mouthfeel and richness with the calorie-reduced dairy products.
The verdict: Texture – Using calorie-reduced ingredients results in a thinner product. No surprise there, but taste wise? Hardly any difference at all. In fact, the high-test liqueur I made (full fat/regular sweetened condensed milk) gets a little thick in your throat after a two or three (or four) servings. Flavour – hardly any difference to note between the Jameson Irish whiskey and the Amrut Indian whiskey, but the Irish Mist lent an overall sweeter content, because of the sugar already present in the liqueur.
Go ahead and experiment. I’d love to hear how things turn out!