Irish Cream Cold Brew

Cold brew coffee and Baileys Irish Cream — Baileys (IDV, 1974) the world's first Irish cream liqueur, Starbucks adding cold brew to the US national menu in 2015.

Irish Cream Cold Brew is a modern cocktail that brings together two products whose separate cultural moments converged in the late 2010s: Baileys Original Irish Cream — the world's first commercially produced Irish cream liqueur, launched in 1974 — and cold brew coffee concentrate, which transitioned from a specialty coffee niche into mainstream American consumption through the early 2010s. Baileys was created by Tom Jago and David Gluckman, working for International Distillers and Vintners (IDV), who combined Irish whiskey with fresh cream and a proprietary emulsification system that kept the product shelf-stable without refrigeration. Launched commercially in 1974, Baileys became one of the best-selling liqueurs in the world within years and created the cream liqueur category. Cold brew coffee — produced by steeping ground coffee in cold or room-temperature water for twelve to twenty-four hours, producing a concentrate that is smoother and less acidic than heat-extracted coffee — had been made by home enthusiasts and specialty coffee shops for decades before Starbucks added cold brew to its national American menu in 2015, a decision that accelerated the format's mainstream recognition dramatically. The combination of Baileys Irish Cream's whiskey-and-dairy sweetness with cold brew's smooth, low-acid coffee depth produces a cocktail whose components are inherently complementary.