SOMETHING SMOOTH THAT SLIPS DOWN THE THROAT AND WARMS THE COCKLES OF YOUR HEART (Home Made Alcoholic Mixes/Cocktails)

Member Name: chrissypops

Product:	Home Made Alcoholic Mixes/Cocktails
Date:	18/11/01 (5225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: UMmmmmmm

Disadvantages: Can drinking too much of this be a disadvantage?

Now winter's drawing in, there's nothing better than to huddle up in front of the fire, with the dog cat or partner? on you lap, and a nice alcoholic drink to warm those cold places the fire cant get to. Baileys is one of my favorite liqueurs and although there is Baileys, country satin and a few other cheaper brands knocking about on supermarket shelves. Nothing is more heart warming than making your own special Baileys.

Although Baileys has been around since 1974 and a staggering 1,600 glasses are drank every minute of the day. They cant count mine in with that because for the last 3 years I have been making my own from a recipe I pinched from my sister. I usually decide to make it around Christmas, mainly because its the only time I really drink liqueurs. But this drink can be made time and time again, to the strength you want and I think it does work out cheaper as you do double the volume from what you started with. So make sure you have an empty screw cap wine bottle handy. You can either buy a bottle an drink the wine at one sitting ( sounds good to me!) or if you have a half empty wine bottle in the house ( not likely in my house!) finish that off and give it a good rinse. Remember it has to be a screw top wine bottle not a cork one as you will be using it to store the finished Baileys.

So apart from an empty bottle what else will you need? Well one of the main ingredients for home made Baileys is whisky. Now its up to you want sort you get. You can buy a cheap whisky or a really expensive one but I tend to aim mid range? and go an buy Grants whisky which can be found in most small/large supermarkets, wine stores and some garages if they are licensed to sell alcohol. The other main ingredient in Baileys is cream. Real Baileys contains about 50% fresh Irish cream which is responsible for its rich, creamy and smooth taste. In our home made Baileys we can use UHT double cream 10 fl oz tub and condensed milk. Why UHT and not the rea
l thing? Well what gives Baileys its uniqueness is the fact that Whisky and cream are not usually compatible. You can add fresh double cream but even I, a lover of Baileys can not drink two bottles of Baileys in a week.. Its better to use UHT cream, so at least you have 2 month shelf life. And hopefully that's what you should get, two bottles of pure warmth when you have finished this. The only other thing you need to buy but I can guarantee you already have it in your house. Its instant coffee. You only need a little so if you havent got any in, just get a small taster jar of mild coffee, like Nescafe. You can use Camp coffee essence too but I find using instant coffee better as its less bitter.. All that's needed is just a teaspoon of Vanilla, which again should be added to taste.

Now you have all the ingredients, just get a big mixing bowl and empty the whole bottle of whisky into it. Give it a quick rinse and make sure you have your empty wine bottle on stand by. Gently whisk the UHT double cream in and then pour in the condensed milk. Add a tablespoon of instant coffee and again whisk until smooth. At this point, you should taste your Baileys. This way you can see if a tablespoon of coffee is enough. If it isn't just add to taste.

Once you are satisfied with the taste you just need to transfer to your bottles. You can do this either by tipping contents of the bowl into a jug, and then pour in or if you are lucky enough you might have a rim on your bowl in which you could try and pour it straight in the bottles. Either way stand the bottles in the sink, then if you do spill any, its less mess for you to clean up. Unless of course you like licking clean your surfaces!!!


You should more or less have two litres of home made Baileys and what you want to do with it is now up to you. You can keep it up two 2 months either in a cool dark place or you can keep it in the fridge. Of course you don't just have to drink it
, you can marinate with it, add it to coffee, even add it to you potatoes! I just love my home made Baileys, on the rocks curled up in my big comfy chair, low lights and the warmth of the fire. Ummm certainly warms the heart on a cold winter night. Watch out for some of my recipes which have a touch of my home made Baileys coming soon.

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