Irish Creams

          Irish creams are defiantly a holiday and a cold weather favorite. As time has gone on, it has become one of Americas most enjoyed drinks. Many people enjoy drinking it several different ways; many enjoy it on the rocks, mixing it in mixed drinks and one of the favorites is enjoying it in some hot coffee. In this newsletter, we will give you a brief summary about the Irish cream, how most Irish cream is made, and also compare some popular brands so you can have a better background if you choose to try something new.

          Irish cream is a mixture of whiskey, cream and of course sugar, which gives it the obvious sweetness. It almost always uses Irish whiskey as its base. Some do use some other bases in its production and we will cover a couple of those in the newsletter as well. Most Irish creams have a slight smell of hazelnut or almonds. The taste itself is actually really sweet. As the last few years have proven the category of Irish creams are always expanding. There have been many new flavors added besides just the original flavoring that had been the main focus previously. There are now such flavorings as mint, chocolate, caramel, white chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch and even a coffee flavored Irish cream. So there is a guaranteed flavor that everyone will love.

          Every brand has their own way of production, but most of the main guidelines are about the same. The process itself is actually really amazing because there are so many different steps that go into making each batch perfect.

Stage 1: Blending

Irish whiskey is the liquor which is used in that specific process. It is blended together to prepare the alcohol base of the Irish cream. When it is blended to perfection, it is often mixed with the cream at a nearby dairy.

Stage 2: Mixing

Cream, water, and stabilizers are mixed together at high temperatures in large stainless steel tanks. The stabilizers are the parts that make sure there will be no curdling in the Irish creams.

Stage 3: Binding

After the Irish cream has a chance to sit for a little, the cream mixture is fed through stainless steel piping to a homogenizer. During this part of the process, the other flavorings are also added into the mixture. Many times this may be honey for added sweetness and flavoring, or any sort of flavoring that is required for the batch. The homogenization process ensures the Irish cream will not separate and officially binds all the ingredients together.

          Stage 4: Finalization

               The mixture needs to be cooled and then bottled. Before this can
               happen the products need to be tested for quality purposes because
               the product has to live up to certain standards before it can be
               bottled and sold. The shelf life is usually 2 years. It should also be
               stored between 41-77 degrees.

     Now that we went through the basics of what Irish cream is and how it is made, we can go through some specific brands. So first and for most Baileys is the most popular of the Irish creams. It is the Irish cream that is the most recognized by its name, and the one that really put Irish cream on the map. Baileys is one of the smoothest Irish creams and many people choose Baileys because of how smooth it is. Baileys may be popular, but it is not your only choice.

     Carolans Irish cream also is a good choice. Carolans has a definite sweet vanilla like flavoring and it also has a small subtle taste of honey. Carolans is actually made in Clonmel, an Irish town whose name means 'meadow of honey'. It also does not have as much of a whiskey flavoring as some of the others do.

     St Brendans Irish cream has a little bit more of a whiskey taste than some of the others. This Irish cream also is a little less creamy than the others, yet still a very good choice.

     O'mars Irish cream is the only Irish cream that includes wine in the blend instead of whiskey. It gives it a very smooth subtle taste that unless you know about the wine it is hard to place, but also very pleasant, without a harsh after taste.

     The E&J Cask and Cream also does not use Irish whiskey, it actually uses E&J Brandy. This Irish cream actually has a very distinct taste of vanilla and butterscotch so maybe if the traditional Irish Creams are not for you maybe E&J Cask and Cream would be better.

          I hope this helped you a little bit in understanding Irish creams, and I hope you decide to try something new this season. Irish creams are great for gifts and also for very cold nights. Irish creams have been a very big part of the season, and with how much popularity they have been gaining over the last few years, they will be around for a long time. So try something new and you just might be surprised!

Happy Holidays from everyone here at Westside Liquor!