For many of us Baileys is a festive staple but a new Irish cream has hit UK supermarket shelves and Christmas superfan Narin Flanders thinks it’s absolutely worth a space in your basket
Forget the children going back to school after the summer or the emergence of pumpkin spiced drinks in coffee shops up and down the country, the way I can tell Christmas is coming is through my weekly shop. At the point cut priced tubs of Celebrations and Miniature Heroes begin to be piled up to heights taller than me I know we’ve got one eye on the best time of the year.
But there’s one other Christmas staple that always inevitably gets discounted in most supermarkets as we move towards the festive season – Baileys. The iconic brand is the best known of Irish creams and whether you’re looking to zhuzh up a hot chocolate or drink it neat over ice it’s usually reduced by up to half price to tempt shoppers to pick up the warming tipple for the winter.
However this year, among the flavoured versions and alternatives (after considerable taste testing my top tips are Baileys Mint Choc Shake and Hotel Chocolat’s Espresso Martini liqueur which is basically Tiramisu in a glass), there’s a new Irish cream that’s hit the UK market that elevates the Christmassy tipple to the next level – and it too is on offer already ahead of the festive season.
I put the new lower calorie Baileys head to head with the original and it’s worth the swap
I tried Hotel Chocolat’s Baileys-style liqueurs and one tastes exactly like Tiramisu
Bringing the concept of small-batch distillery now hugely popular with whiskey and gin alike, Five Farms makes artisan Irish cream using a triple-distilled Irish whiskey and rich cream made on one of a small number of family run farms (the clue is in the name) in County Cork, Ireland.
At first glance, Five Farms is visibly different to Baileys with its considerably lighter colour reflecting the amount of cream in the blend. Don’t let that the creaminess confuse you though, at 17% ABV, Five Farms has the same alcohol strength as traditional Baileys, thanks to the potency of the whisky.
As with all Irish creams, Five Farms is ideal for using on ice cream and in desserts, hot chocolates and cocktails but to really get a feel for the taste the best thing to do is drink it neat or, at most, over ice.
What’s more, what I realised with my first sip is that it’s so worth savouring you won’t want to dilute the joy of the taste if you can avoid it. Drinking it neat is a delicious experience. Taking a sip you get gentle warmth, taste of cream and then the whiskey taste to finish. It is smooth where Baileys can feel a little fiery with the whisky aftertaste and very moreish.
As co-editor of The Mirror’s Secret Elves Club newsletter, which brings Christmas news and ideas into readers’ inboxes 52 weeks of the year, I’m a self-confessed superfan of all things festive and, previously, I’d have put Baileys firmly on the top of that list. But with so many high end alternative Irish creams coming to market I’m realising there are other solid options out there too and, as someone whose preferred drinking style is neat over ice, enjoying the liquid velvet experience without a fiery aftertaste makes for a more satisfying tipple.
What’s more, if you do have a Baileys aficionado in your life and are looking for a slightly more special-looking gift, Five Farms is a great option this Christmas. Its stylish bottle looks like an old-fashioned milk bottle, making it a great gift and conversation piece and would look great wrapped under the tree.
With an RRP of £30.95 it’s definitely a pricier option than Baileys – although there are already discounts available if you look and I’ve already snapped up an extra bottle for Christmas – but it’s absolutely a premium drink worth the price tag which puts it at around the same price point as Coole Swan and, for my money, the tastier of the two.
The makers say that once its opened a bottle of Five Farms is best kept in the fridge and consumed within six months but, if my experience is anything to go by, it won’t last that long.
Five Farms is available now in some UK supermarkets, most notably Sainsburys, Ocado and Waitrose. Although if my experiences trying to track down a second bottle having finished my first are anything to go by it’s a popular choice so if you see one and are tempted it’s worth picking up for Christmas now.
Elsewhere, Five Farms it’s currently on offer at Amazon for £27.50 for a 70cl bottle or at full RRP at The Whiskey Exchange for £30.95.
