Appearance: Beige, creamy and viscous. Aroma: Vanilla nougat, milk chocolate, very mild nuttiness, muted whiskey. Flavour and Texture: Creamy, rich, well balanced cocoa and spicy notes. The influence of whiskey is more notable in the palate than the nose, even if defined whisky flavours are not. I can't believe I've never reviewed Bailey's here before. Not only because it is so popular and well known, but because it is so frequently in our refrigerator. Mrs Cascode has a fondness for it and I'm no stranger to it myself. It's a pleasant, comfy drop for when you occasionally want a creamy sweet after dinner. I think of it as the alcohol equivalent of fudge, or a somewhat ratty but very comfortable old cardigan. The most fascinating thing about Bailey's is its inception. There is nothing historic or traditional about this stuff - it was invented by a marketing team in 1973 and the original recipe took about 45 minutes to formulate, using ingredients bought from the supermarket near their office. The only reason it exists was because David Gluckman and his partner were handed a consultancy to invent a drink that would use Irish spirits in order to exploit a government tax break that had been negotiated by their client. If you want to read a fascinating account about this find Gluckman's book "That S**t Will Never Sell" or go here for a long extract from the first chapter: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/in-1973-i-invented-a-girly-drink-called-baileys-1.3240945 It's a riveting read. The really sobering thing is how much this happens. Very few liqueurs have an authentic artisan history, folk roots, or were created through passion just to bring a new taste sensation to the world. The majority of liqueurs only exist because sometime, somewhere, someone in a marketing department wanted a new product to compete with an existing one. Anyway, this is still pleasant and perfectly drinkable. Like most well-engineered liqueurs, it works, and Bailey's is substantially cheaper than most of its imitators. The official tasting notes and score are right on target. "Average" : 78/100 (2.75 stars)