7 of the Best Irish Creams That Aren't Baileys
With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, it’s time to celebrate the best of the Irish. But that doesn’t mean you have to fall back on old habits. When you want an Irish cream, it’s easy to reflexively reach for the Baileys which invented the category in 1971 (it was introduced in 1974), but these days there are so many more options to choose from—and some are quite excellent. At its simplest, Irish cream contains Irish whiskey and cream, but many brands, including Baileys, add other flavorings like chocolate and vanilla. Today, brands small and large are elevating the Irish cream market by using fresh dairy, premium Irish whiskey, and carefully sourced additions like Belgian white chocolate, for example. Irish creams are great neat or on the rocks, to spike coffee hot chocolate, and in cocktails like a White Russian or Mudslide. Here are the Irish creams beyond Baileys you need to try.
1. Coole Swan
Coole Swan came on the market in 2010 in a sophisticated luxurious looking bottle and has been garnering accolades and gold medals ever since. In 2020, Wine Enthusiast named it the number one cream liqueur in the world, awarding it 96 points out of 100. Made with single malt Irish whiskey, fresh Irish dairy, and Belgian white chocolate in County Meath, it’s smooth, rich, and just incredibly delicious. Wondering about the name? Coole Swan was inspired by “The Wild Swans at Coole,” a poem written by Ireland’s W.B. Yeats.
2. Five Farms
This award-winning velvety Irish cream launched at the end of 2017 via Missouri’s McCormick Distilling. It collects dairy from five specific farms in County Cork and within 48 hours adds premium, triple-distilled Irish whiskey from Cork’s Midleton Distillery. And although the fresh cream lends a dairy-forward taste, the liqueur is actually 10 percent whiskey, ensuring a strong whiskey flavor as well (Five Farms is 17 percent alcohol by volume). And while the taste is supreme, it’s hard not to appreciate Five Farms’ bottle, which recalls an old-fashioned milk delivery glass bottle, complete with a ceramic swing top cap and metal handle.
3. Saint Brendan’s
A combination of cream from Derry in Northern Ireland, and Quiet Man Irish Whiskey, which is aged and triple-distilled also in Derry, is all that goes into the disc-shaped bottle of Saint Brendan’s. Best of all, Saint Brendan’s is a quality product that actually costs less than Bailey’s—it’s lush and smooth, with chocolate undertones.
4. Hard Chaw
Hard Chaw is the brainchild of Colm O’Neill, a former Gaelic football player who grew up in Ireland and came to Colorado and opened multiple Irish pubs. Several years ago, he set out to make a stronger Irish cream with a higher alcohol content. Sounds simple, but in fact adding too much whiskey makes Irish cream not as shelf stable. After working with a distiller in Ireland and countless experiments, O’Neill landed on a recipe that worked. The secret? Adding potcheen, an Irish moonshine made with potatoes and malted barley That has EU geographical designation and must be made in Ireland. Hard Chaw, which rings in at 50 proof compared to the 30-something of other Irish whiskies, also contains Irish whiskey and of course, cream. Launched at the end of 2019, Hard Chaw’s name comes from the Irish term Hard Chaw, which means someone really tough—like the muscleman depicted on the bottle.
The Irishman photo courtesy of Hotaling
In 1999, Bernard and Rosemary Walsh opened the Walsh Whiskey Distillery on an 18th-century country estate in County Carlow, about 60 miles south of Dublin. In 2005, they launched the Irishman Cream Liqueur.
The award-winning creamy drink is made from Irish whiskey, Irish dairy cream, and natural toffee and vanilla flavoring, giving it a unique flavor in the category.
6. The Whistler Irish Cream
With a 90-point score from Wine Enthusiast, the Whistler Irish Cream is silky and rich, with hints of milk chocolate, vanilla, and a finish of whiskey spice. Made with Whistler Irish whiskey from the Cooney family’s Boann Distillery in Ireland’s Boyne Valley,
Whistler Irish Cream is the first in the world to be made with single pot still Irish whiskey, which is combined with Irish cream from grass-fed cows, and is 19 percent alcohol by volume. Whistler’s whiskies and Irish cream became available in the U.S. in 2020 through a partnership with Prestige Beverage Group.
7. Merrys
For those who like the various flavors that Baileys offers, consider Merrys. Produced in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Merrys comes in flavors like salted caramel, toffee buttermint pumpkin spice, strawberry, and white chocolate—as well as original, which has hints of caramel and vanilla. Merrys has won multiple awards for various flavors through the years, including its salted caramel flavor being named the Best Irish Cream Liqueur in 2020 by the World Liqueur Awards. Merrys uses only fresh Irish cream delivered from the creamery within 12 hours before it’s blended with Irish whiskey. Best of all, Merrys is more affordable than most premium Irish creams, including Baileys.