Homemade Irish Cream Liquor
If Baileys is your idea of perfection, you might be disappointed by making your own. But if you're open to a new Irish cream experience, homemade will win you over. DIY Irish cream tastes richer and fresher than the store-bought kind (though it doesn't last as long or look quite as uniform.) It's like the difference between a Chips Ahoy cookie and a freshly baked homemade chocolate chip cookie. Your own batch also will cost you at least 5 dollars less than the packaged stuff. Bailey's costs $26 in Philadelphia.
Homemade Irish cream is also a flexible recipe that allows for tweaking as you go along. All the ingredients are blended together at once without any cooking, so you can sample it during the process and adjust flavoring to your personal taste. Want more chocolate or whiskey? Go for it! Allergic to nuts? Skip the almond extract. Want an even richer drink? Blend in some eggs.
This is the description of Bailey's on the Fine Wine and Spirits website: "The sweetest meeting of fine Irish whiskey and spirits, Irish dairy cream and rich chocolate and vanilla flavors. — Distiller’s notes"
A 750ml bottle of Baileys says it’s 17% ABV. On Reddit, they figured out to get this ABV, you should use 1.7 cups of whiskey (42.5%) to make 1 quart. That means you need 2.3 cups (57.5%) of the other ingredients.
***See Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk
Jane's Irish Cream Liquor (Make in a blender)
1 cup whiskey
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk - not evaporated
1 cup whipping, or light cream
1 to 2 eggs
1 tablespoon chocolate flavored syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons instant coffee
6 oz Cool Whip - optional
Combine all ingredients; blend until smooth. Serve in coffee or plain over ice.
Keeps up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
Homemade Irish Cream
from http://imbibemagazine.com/
Recipe is adapted from D.C.-based bartending brothers Ari and Micah Wilder. "We're big fans of Irish whiskey," says Ari, "especially when it comes to spiking our coffee." So the duo went about developing an Irish cream that works equally well in coffee and cocktails, and is just as good sipped solo.
5 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
1 oz. of water
2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
Tbsp. of unsalted butter
3 oz. of cacao nibs (about 3/4 cup) [I would add Ghirardelli Premium Baking 60 or 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Chips or Hersheys Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips (45% cocoa)]
1 oz. of grade B maple syrup
2 cups of heavy cream
1/4 tsp. of almond extract
4 oz. of Irish whiskey
Step 1 - In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and split vanilla beans. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Step 2 - Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cacao nibs and whisk for 1 minute.
Step 3 - Whisk the vanilla syrup (with vanilla beans) into the butter mixture.
Step 4 - Whisk in maple syrup and heavy cream and increase heat to medium-high. Whisk continuously, just until bubbles form. Reduce heat to low and let simmer, whisking frequently, until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Step 5 - Stir in almond extract and Irish whiskey.
Step 6 - Strain and funnel into a large glass jar and cover. Shake before using. Will keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
DIY Irish Cream
from http://www.seriouseats.com/
If you want to experiment with flavors, omit the vanilla and almond extracts and honey to start with a simpler base. Then add your own flavors to taste. For a darker, less-sweet version, substitute melted dark chocolate for the cocoa and 1 tablespoon brewed espresso for the espresso powder. To sweeten it up, use 1 tablespoon melted bittersweet chocolate in place of the cocoa. For a thicker and richer drink, add four eggs before blending, then serve the same day for best flavor.
Notes: Refrigerate and shake before each use. This will keep for about 2 months.
1 1/4 cups Irish whiskey
1 tablespoon espresso powder [or 2 tablespoons instant coffee]
14 ounces (1 can) condensed sweetened milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder [or 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup]
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon real almond extract
2 tablespoons honey [optional]
Blend all ingredients together in a blender.
Transfer mixture into a glass jar or bottle and seal. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Shake before serving.
Copy Cat Recipe for Bailey's on the Internet
1 2/3 cups Irish whiskey, such as Jameson)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
2 - 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup, such Hershey’s (some recipes use 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with 1 Tbsp. cream instead)
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or instant espresso (make sure it’s instant so it dissolves)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in the canister of a blender and blend on high speed until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds.
Transfer mixture to a glass bottle or airtight container with a tight-fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months (I have read anywhere between 1 to 2 months; the alcohol helps preserve it, but always use the sniff test and common sense).
Shake well before using.
Homemade Irish Cream (Bailey’s)
from https://trustinkim.com/
I wanted a recipe that used fresh cream, home-made chocolate extract, and cold-pressed coffee. You need to plan a day or two in advance to make the chocolate extract and cold-pressed coffee.
2 tablespoons vodka or whiskey (for chocolate extract)
1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa (for chocolate extract)
1/2 cup coarsely ground coffee beans (for cold-press coffee concentrate)
1 cup cold water (for cold-press coffee concentrate)
2 tablespoons Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips 60% Cacao
2 cups fresh organic cream (I used Avalon)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups Irish Whiskey (I used Jameson’s)
Two days in advance prepare the chocolate extract: In a small container stir the cocoa, vodka or whiskey, and 1 tablespoon of water. Let this sit at room temperature for the two days, stirring once or twice a day. After the two days, moisten a coffee filter with water, then strain the chocolate mixture. It will take time to strain all the liquid out, but you will be left with a gorgeous chocolate extract.
The night before making the Irish Cream you can make the cold-press coffee concentrate: Coarsely grind the coffee beans, then pour them along with 1/2 cup cold water into a jar, making sure all the beans get moistened. Add the other 1/2 cup of the water, then seal the jar and store in the fridge overnight. In the morning you can strain the liquid using a coffee filter.
Using a double boiler over medium-low heat, or a bowl over a pot that has some water in it, place the chocolate chips along with about 2 teaspoons of cream. Stir the chocolate chips until they have melted.
In a bowl whisk the remaining cream and the sugar together. Little by little add the sugar and cream mixture to the melted chocolate, until it has all been incorporated and the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the mixture into a large bowl that has a pouring spout, or into a large jar. Use an immersion blender to pulse a few times to combine, or whisk for a minute. Add the chocolate and vanilla extracts, cold-pressed coffee concentrate, and whiskey. Pulse the blender a few more times to combine.
Use a funnel to pour the Irish Cream into clean jars.
Refrigerate, and enjoy over ice, in coffee, or on top of ice cream. Don’t forget to shake it up first!
FMM: Looks like this makes about 1 quart and will use about 1/2 of a 750ml bottle of Jameson (750ml = a little over 3 cps). On 1/20/2026, Jameson Black Barrel was $44.99 a bottle. Regular Jameson was $32.99. Baileys Irish Cream for a 750ml bottle was $31.19.
