Bailey Original Irish Cream

Baileys began with an unglamorous business problem: in the early 1970s, the conglomerate that owned both a struggling Irish whiskey distillery and a dairy business with surplus cream needed a way to use both. A small development team in London experimented for years before perfecting a stable emulsion of cream and whiskey that wouldn't separate — testing the earliest version, by one account, in a cleaned-out soda bottle.

Launched in Dublin in 1974, Baileys became the world's first Irish cream liqueur: roughly half fresh Irish dairy cream, blended with aged Irish whiskey, cocoa, and vanilla for a smooth, indulgent character that's since made it the best-selling liqueur on the planet.

Lovely over ice, in a coffee, or as the base of a proper Mudslide.