Sheelin Irish Cream

An elegant, cream liqueur by R.A. Merry in Tipperary Ireland made with a grape wine base, cream & natural flavors. It has an aromatic birth with notes of cream with grape wine & spices; while a rich & full life adds notes of caramel, chocolate & butterscotch; that leads to a balanced & silky death of medium length with a hint of Grappa. December 2021

Dirt-cheap knockoff of the original Irish cream, Baileys. It’s not made with Irish whiskey, but with “grape wine,” and it’s obvious even if it wasn’t written on the label. It’s not completely terrible at first sip, but then this gross, vomit-like flavor shows up in the finish. It might be okay in mixed drinks. My dad has no sense of taste and gave me this bottle; price is what matters to him. I think you get what you pay for, and recommend you spend more for Baileys or another, better knockoff.

10: Side-by-side, this is visually indistinguishable from Bailey's. The nose, however, is much lighter with a more floral character compared with the malty to the point of being almost chocolatey nose on Bailey's. This just doesn't smell very good. The mouthfeel is viscous and the flavor is sweet and creamy. The floral notes are clearly present, but they blend with the vanilla nicely to make this a thoroughly palatable drink, albeit a bland one with a short finish that has some off notes. Bailey's has a more viscous mouthfeel and although it comparatively has a bit of grape soda on its nose and palate, it tastes rich and is quite enjoyable. This tastes a lot sweeter and gives an impression of being fake, sort of like how vanilla softserve doesn't actually taste like ice cream. This is also a disappointment in comparison with Sheelin white chocolate, which is richer and really goes for it on the grape flavor, emphasizing the combination of confection and liquor (which does include grape wine). This is a lot sweeter despite having less grape. It tastes just a bit off. Without comparison to anything else, that tastes fine, but in comparison it is lacking. Still, it doesn't have that gross, earthy flavor that Tolon Tolon has. This has a little bit of smoke to it actually, which goes well with its caramel, though the caramel sweetness still tastes underdeveloped. Bailey's has a superior richness and cuts back the sweetness, making it a more successful liqueur. There is something to the Bailey's finish that is a bit artificial though and Sheelin doesn't have the problem to the same degree in its liqueurs. This, however, just has that artificial dairy flavor throughout, which makes it hard for it to achieve much quality. It achieves some due to some good flavors and complexifiers, but on net it's held back a lot by the off-dairy flavor.