Money

I tried supermarket own-brand Irish liqueur including Baileys – the winner is a third cheaper and tastes the same

by
Super Educational
November 20, 2022

WE’RE all trying to tighten our belts this Christmas – so how can we enjoy our festive favourites without it costing too much?

We’ve tested some traditional Christmas treats to find out whether supermarket own-brand goods beat the brands on quality and price.

Rosie Taylor put Baileys and supermarkets own-brand versions against each other in our test

Baileys is the most expensive of them all

In this test, we pitted Bailey’s against supermarket own-brand versions of Irish cream liqueur from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl.

For each one, we gave it a score out of ten for taste, also taking into account the alcohol content.

And we also rated each bottle out of ten for value, based on the price you pay per 100ml, and gave each product an overall score out of 20.

Here’s how the imitation Baileys fared against the real thing:

Baileys original cream liqueur

RRP £17 for 700ml

The classic drink is exactly as you’d expect: creamy and smooth with a warm aftertaste.

But it comes at a price – the RRP for a standard bottle is £17, or £2.25 per 100ml.

That’s more than three times the price of the cheapest imitation bottle we tested from Aldi.

Taste: 10/10
Value: 4/10
Total: 14/20

Tesco Irish cream liqueur

£8.50 for 700ml

Rosie found Tesco’s Irish cream liqueur lacked flavour

Tesco’s Irish cream liqueur was the same strength as Baileys – at 17 per cent ABV – but lacked flavour.

It meant it had a strong alcohol smell and a burning taste, like cheap vodka.

At £1.21 per 100ml, it was half the price of Baileys but one of the more expensive supermarket products we tried.

Taste: 4/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 10/20

Asda Causeway Coast Irish country cream

£4.75 for 700ml

Asda’s version had a lower alcohol content

The Irish cream liqueur from Asda was much thinner than Baileys and had a lower alcohol content, at 12 per cent ABV.

It had a mocha taste and was very synthetically sweet.

At just 68p per 100ml, it was the second cheapest we tried.

Taste: 6/10
Value: 8/10
Total: 14/20

Morrisons The Best Irish cream liqueur

£10.99 for 1L

Morrisons’ booze looked thin and watery, according to Rosie

This Irish cream liqueur from Morrisons had quite a harsh alcohol taste at first but a pleasant butterscotch aftertaste.

It was the same strength as Baileys (17 per cent ABV) but looked thin and watery, like weak tea.

We liked that it came in a larger 1-litre bottle and was in the middle of the range price-wise, at £1.10 per 100ml.

Taste: 7/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 14/20

WINNER – Sainsbury’s Country Cream

£10 for 700ml

The Sainsbury’s liqueur was almost identical to a Baileys – and it’ll save you cash too

The Sainsbury’s liqueur was a very close copy of Baileys, with a similar smooth taste.

It also had the same alcohol content at 17 per cent ABV.

At £1.43 per 100ml, it was the most expensive own-brand product we tried – but it was still a third cheaper than Baileys, so a great bargain alternative to the real thing.

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 15/20