This town isn't big enough for the two of us (Sheridans)

Member Name: KatiePuckrik

Product:	Sheridans
Date:	09/11/07 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unusual and tastes nice

Disadvantages: Expensive and badly marketed

Anyone know how to make a coffee liqueur? You know, the kind of coffees which have the cream sitting on the top and the coffee underneath (like a pint of Guinness)? No-one? OK let give you a master-class in coffee liqueur making!
Firstly, a little organic chemistry! Fats and carbohydrates don't mix too well. At the first opportunity they can take they will separate (like oil and water) They are called "immiscible liquids". It is this prinicple which coffee liqueurs are based. To make the perfect coffee liqueur you need to put enough coffee in the glass (has to be a glass otherwise the effect is pointless) to fill it until there is about 2 cm from the top. Then put in the spirit of your choice (more later!), this will take the gap to 1 cm. Now put about 2 spoonfuls of brown sugar (has to be brown!) and give the whole thing a stir. Make sure none of the sugar remains and the whole mixture is homogenised. Now the cream! Take about 50 ml of double cream and give it a light whisk. Now here's the tricky bit! Place a teaspoon upside down on the surface of coffee, so the convex bit of the spoon is still exposed and not in the coffee but the tip of the spoon is touching the coffee. Now pour the cream onto the convex bit of the spoon, gently! The cream will slide off the spoon and gently settle on the surface of the coffee. This is why the sugar is vital. Without the carbohydrate from the sugar, the fat of the cream will blend into the coffee! Et Volia! One coffee liqueur!

If done correctly, this process should take about 20 minutes. But let's say you haven't got time, then what? Enter Sheridan's!
This drink (to my knowledge) entered the market recently (if somebody knows better, please feel free to correct me). It was highly unusual, yet stunning simple. How many other spirit or liqueurs on the market, have the bottle separated into 2 pieces? Not many! This made it stand out from the rest.

I bought a bottle and decided to give it a whirl. Around the neck of the bottle there is a short course in how to pour the perfect Sheridan's. Ice, tilt the glass and pour gently. Tilting is extremely important. Just like the spoon, mentioned earlier, it will roll off the side of the glass and separate neatly. This is why people should pour Guinnesses with tilting the glass; this will make sure the head isn't too big and take shorter to settle.
Taste wise, Sheridan's is certainly a cut above the rest. The cream has a hint of vanilla and the coffee had a distinctive kick to it. It was a bit bitter for my liking (as I have a sweet-tooth!) but a taste for it can be acquired easily. Top marks!

The back of the bottle is a bit unhelpful. From reading the back of the bottle I know that this drink should be consumed with 6 months of opening, should be stored between 5 - 25oC and I learnt how to write the ingredients of this drink in Greek, Italian and Portuguese! This is where the drink starts to lose marks. Not much information of the history of this drink or what the alcoholic spirit in the black coffee liqueur is (Whiskey, Gin, petrol, what is it? I don't know!). Need more information.
Price wise Sheridan's falls flat on its face! Yes, this is a nice drink and yes it is unusual. £12 for a bottle?! No, no, no, no, bloody no! Each bottle holds 500ml. Enough for 5 reasonable sized shots. This works out to be £2.40 a drink! This would probably explain why it is rare to find this drink in a pub or club. It must be difficult to serve a reasonable sized drink but without incurring a huge price. More marks lost.

Don't expect this drink to be found everywhere. Despite the good range of choice in your local supermarket, they seem to be a bit hesitant to embrace this one. Maybe due to the price or maybe that it doesn't sell well. I don't know. Just be aware. You'd be surprised how many people are unaware of this drink. This strikes me as the product is badly marketed. This could be a contender in the liqueurs market but it need to pay closer attention to its marketing and its market. However, because little people know about this drink, you could use it a good ice-breaker! "Where did you get that drink?!"...
Overall, I cannot fault Sheridan's as a drink. It tastes nice, smells nice and will be popular among females! However, unless they get the price right and market this drink correctly, I think it is unlikely that it will topple Bailey's. Good effort, but maybe back to the drawing board...?

P.S. In coffee liqueurs, the name of the drink depends on what spirit you put in it. Here are a few examples:-
Irish coffee: Irish Whiskey
Highland coffee: Scottish Whiskey
British coffee: Gin
Parisenne coffee: French Brandy
Calypso coffee: Tia Maria
Cuban coffee: Bacardi
Russian/Polish Coffee: Vodka

Enjoy!

Summary: Nice drink, shame about everything else.