CAA - Caffeine Addicts Anonymous (Sheridans)

Member Name: Redhead23

Product:	Sheridans
Date:	21/04/01 (2889 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely taste, looks great, one for the sweet tooth

Disadvantages: The caffeine will have ya buzzing all night (only a disadvantage if you are trying to fall asleep)

I first tasted this little gem just before Christmas 2000, while visiting a friend of mine back home in Switzerland. It was my last night there, and as she was too tired to go out or even have any form of sensible conversation, she offered to open the bottle of Sheridan's she had got for her birthday.
Although a few cups of this stuff later, we scrapped the idea of a conversation altogether, we didn't regret it a bit and in spite of the fact that I didn't get to enjoy the beautiful two-layered effect due to using coffee cups, it was definitely an experience I wanted to repeat some day.

As both my boyfriend and I are avid fans of Babylon5, anything named 'Sheridan's' goes down well with him, so it was easy to convince him to share a bottle of this stuff, which is exactly what we did after our last weekly shopping at Tescos - and as if I hadn't known already, I wasn't in the slightest surprised that he loved the stuff!

~~~ What it is ~~~

Sheridan's Coffee Layered Liqueur is manufactured by 'Dublin & Best' and comes in a fancy bottle that is divided into two sections - in the 500 ml version, one side contains 333 ml of coffeebean-brown 'coffee chocolate liqueur', which has 19.4% vol alcohol, the other side contains 167 ml of milky white 'vanilla cream liqueur' coming in at 17% vol alcohol.

The bottle has a rounded shape and comes with a rather fancy pouring mechanism, which features a screw cap and two exits - one each for the two types of liqueur.
Thanks to the precise instructions on the label - featuring drawings - it is easy to pour this drink correctly even if you're already drunk when you start drinking Sheridan's (although I wouldn't recomment this!) - you open the cap, tilt your glass slightly and then simply pour the two layers into a clear glass tumbler, preferrably with lots of ice.

If poured correctly, the two liqueurs will end up lay
ered, with the vanilla floating gently on top of the coffee liqueur and a few ice cubes sticking through the white vanilla like the fatal iceberg that sunk the Titanic...

~~~ How enjoyable is it? ~~~

Although Sheridan's has a slightly sickly smell to it (I guess it is because of the milky vanilla liqueur), the coffee taste of the prepared drink is very authentic and gorgeously sweet.

Due to its sweetness, it doesn't exactly mix well with food but it does help to have something in your stomach before you start drinking this to make it less likely that the gorgeous drink ends up in your toilet bowl half an hour after its consumption
;-)

It is very easy for two people to empty a whole bottle of this in one or two sittings (don't say I didn't warn you!), and thanks to its luxurious consistency it makes an ideal drink for a romantic evening :-)

~~~ Anything else to know? ~~~

You are supposed to store Sheridan's between 5 and 25° Celsius, and I feel it is best enjoyed straight out of the fridge.
The label advises you to drink it within 6 months of opening the bottle - nothing is easier than that, as it is hard to resist finishing it off within 6 days (or hours if you're a hardcore drinker), let alone 6 weeks or months! ;-)

It should be available from larger supermarkets (I think there are bigger bottles available than 500 ml), but also from specialised 'offies' and wine/spirit shops - it costs £9-99 at Tescos for 500 ml but you might be lucky and find it cheaper elsewhere, as I don't drink spirits often enough to know where you get them cheap.

All in all, this is an excellent drink for a romantic evening/night in and is also great for people who generally don't like 'hard' spirits but have a bit of a sweet tooth - I wouldn't advise drinking it along with other alcoholic beverages though, as it can be quite *heavy* on the stomach!
Due to
its consistency it isn't exactly ideal as a mixer, but if you pour a bit into your coffe, you'll be in for the yummiest Irish Coffee ever :-)

Sheridan's is Irish Coffee at it's best, and the fancy bottle beats Bailey's any day - so go on, indulge yoursef to the most luxurious liaison between coffee and cream ever, if possible in the company of your 'significant other'! :-)

Last but not least, a final word of warning - this stuff has CAFFEINE in it, so if you keep drinking this all night long, don't be surprised if you spend the rest of the night on a caffeine buzz, struggling to get to sleep! ;-)

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