It's hard to say exactly at what age you start to enjoy a glass of Baileys in front of the telly on a Friday night more than a knees up at the German Market, but I know I've reached it. My tree may have been up by the end of November , but it didn't truly feel like Christmas until my first Irish cream liqueur on ice of the season. It's the festive tipple of choice for thousands of Brits, who contribute to more than 82 million bottles of the creamy whisky drink being sold every year.
It's no wonder that most of the supermarkets have tried to cash in on its popularity by releasing their own take on the classic. But do any of the own-brands come close to the real thing? I roped in my Baileys-loving mum to help me make a judgement. We compared Irish creams from Lidl, Aldi and M&S to the original - and I think Baileys has finally met its match.
Read more: I compared Cadbury chocolate Santas to Lindt, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and Morrisons and was disappointed Baileys - 5/5 I didn't tell my mum which bottle was which, but she knew straight away which one was Baileys. It was visibly thicker than the rest and tasted the booziest, despite all four having the same 17% alcohol content. It was like a dessert in a glass, rich with Irish dairy cream, sweet with vanilla and slightly chocolatey.
The whisky kick is why younger me couldn't stand the stuff and my husband still can't. He gave it another shot but cringed after the smallest sip, but I happily polished off the rest of his glass. The warmi.
