The festive season is nearly upon us, and if you're looking for the tastiest tipples at the best price, we've got the answers you need with the results of our Irish cream liqueur taste test.
We pitted supermarket versions against the big brand, Baileys, to see if cheaper own-brands can compete on taste.
To find out how they compare, we asked a panel of 72 consumers to blind-taste and rate Baileys alongside five supermarket offerings from Aldi, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco. While Baileys won out overall, several supermarket options impressed our panel, including a great value pick costing less than £8.
Read on to find out which budget-friendly bottles are worth trying, plus how to save on Baileys if you want only the topmost tipple.
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Best Irish Cream Liqueurs
Baileys was the overall favourite in our taste test, but Aldi and Sainsbury's weren't far behind, tying in second place with a score of 74%.
Best Buy: Baileys Original Irish Cream – 76%
£16.50 per 70cl bottle (£2.36 per 100ml)
Baileys proved it’s a Christmas classic for a reason, edging ahead of the competition to take first place. It scored high marks across the board, with most finding the sweetness, creaminess and strength of flavour spot on.
While it is the priciest option, it's worth keeping an eye out for offers as it often goes on sale in the run up to Christmas.
At the time of writing, the cheapest price we found it for was £10 at Asda and Ocado. The 1 litre version typically costs around £21 at full price, but it's currently on offer for £13 from Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury's (£1.30 per 100ml - great value for the branded bottle).
Great Value: Aldi Specially Selected Irish Cream – 74%
£7.99 per 70cl bottle (£1.14 per 100ml)
If you're on the hunt for a Christmas bargain, Aldi’s Irish cream liqueur is a great choice.
It finished in joint-second place alongside Sainsbury's, just a smidge behind the big brand, and is great value for money at just £7.99 a bottle.
While its smell might not be quite as enticing as Baileys, our tasters thought its appearance, flavour and mouthfeel were on par with the branded version.
Available from Aldi.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Irish Cream Liqueur – 74%
£12 per 70cl bottle (£1.71 per 100ml)
Although pricier than Aldi's version, Sainsbury’s liqueur is still cheaper than Baileys (when at full price), and tastes just as good, making it a worthy choice for Christmas celebrations.
It got high marks for its satisfying flavour and mouthfeel, and it's the only supermarket own-label liqueur that matched up to Baileys on aroma.
Available from Sainsbury's.
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How Tesco, M&S and Morrisons Irish cream liqueurs compare to Baileys
The rest of the own-label liqueurs we tested didn't impress as much as Aldi and Sainsbury's, but they're worth considering if you're looking for a cheaper alternative that's local to you.
- Tesco Irish Cream Liqueur – 72%. The second cheapest on test, and not far behind our top three. Another good value option worth trying. £8.50 for 70cl. Available from Tesco.
- M&S Irish Cream Liqueur – 66%. Scored reasonably well, but not everyone was a fan of the flavour, with 51% finding the alcohol flavour too strong. £10 for 70cl. Available in store only at M&S.
- Morrisons The Best Irish Cream Liqueur – 66%. Not bad overall, although around half said it wasn’t thick or creamy enough. £10.99 for 1L. Available from Morrisons.
We were unable to include Lidl Irish Cream liqueur in our tests as it wasn't available at the time, but you can find Lidl Deluxe Irish Cream Liqueur for £8.99 per 70cl at Lidl. There's also a Salted Caramel version for £7.99.
*All products tested are 17% ABV (alcohol by volume)
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Country Cream vs Irish Cream Liqueur
You might spot some supermarkets offering Country Cream as a cheaper alternative to Irish cream liqueur.
Whereas Irish cream liqueurs are made with a blend of Irish whiskey and cream, Country Creams substitute the whiskey for other types of alcohol, such as wine, fermented alcohol and spirits. They tend to be much cheaper, with most costing less than £5 a bottle, and are available from supermarkets including Aldi, Sainsbury's and Asda:
- Aldi Ballycastle Irish Country Cream (£4.49 for 70cl) - available from Aldi.
- Causeway Coast Irish Country Cream (£4.75 for 70cl) - available from Asda.
- Carthy's Country Cream (£6 for 70cl) - available from Iceland and Morrisons.
- Sainsbury's Country Cream (£4.75 for 70cl) - available from Sainsbury's.
Typically, country creams have a slightly lower alcohol content of around 12-14.5% ABV.
Where to buy flavoured Baileys
Baileys has diversified with a range of new flavours for those with a sweet tooth, or after something different. From salted caramel to orange truffle, there are plenty of tempting options to try for a seasonal twist on classic festive cocktails (or a nice warming hot chocolate).
- Baileys Chocolat Luxe Cream Liqueur (£19 for 50cl) - available from Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose.
- Baileys Salted Caramel Irish Cream Liqueur (£19 for 70cl) - available from Ocado and Sainsbury's.
- Baileys Tiramisu Cocktail Liqueur (£17 for 70cl) - available from Tesco.
- Baileys Orange Truffle (£19 for 50cl) - available from Tesco.
Supermarkets have followed suit - Asda has its own range of flavoured liqueurs, while Aldi sells a couple of festive flavoured Country Cream liqueurs:
- Asda Extra Special Blonde Chocolate Liqueur (£8 for 70cl) - available from Asda
- Asda Extra Special Chocolate Orange Liqueur (£8 for 70cl) - available from Asda
- Aldi Ballycastle Chocolate & Clementine (£7.49 for 70cl) - available from Aldi
- Aldi Ballycastle Espresso Martini (£7.49 for 70cl) - available from Aldi
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How we tested Irish Cream Liqueurs
The products were assessed in September 2022 by a large panel of consumers who regularly buy and consume Irish cream liqueur.
The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. Each product was assessed by 72 people.
The panellists rated the taste, mouthfeel, aroma and appearance of each product and told us what they liked and disliked about each one.
The taste test was blind, so the panellists didn’t know which brand they were trying. The order in which they sampled the Irish cream liqueur was fully rotated to avoid any bias, and each panellist had a private booth so they couldn’t discuss what they were tasting or be influenced by others.
The overall score is based on:
- 50% taste
- 20% aroma
- 15% mouthfeel
- 15% appearance
Prices correct as of 4 November 2022. We also requested Irish cream liqueur nominations from Lidl, Asda, Iceland, Waitrose and Co-op, but they did not have a suitable product available at the time of testing.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/baileys-wins-irish-cream-liqueur-taste-test-but-two-cheap-supermarket-rivals-arent-far-behind-akeeL6K454aq