Review – Baileys Almande

It’s tough being a self-described foodie and suffer from lactose intolerance.  In my case it’s pretty easy to manage the symptoms with over the counter supplements as long as you remember to take them early in the dining process.  It’s not a fun experience to digest dairy and realize you don’t have a Lactaid available to counter the future “effects” of your poor decisions.  Milk products are in a lot of things you might not expect so it’s important to be prepared.

As someone who loves Baileys Irish Cream over ice, especially in the winter time, I was excited to learn they made a dairy free version.  Evidently what’s available now is the 2.0 version.  Version 1.0 was released in 2016, labeled as Vegan, and contained Bees Wax (a big no-no in the vegan community).  Hands were wrung, Birkenstocks were kicked off, and the Paddington Bottling Company (maker of Baileys) was taken out back and scorned for their misgivings.

The 2017 2.0 release is now “certified” vegan and gluten free to boot!  I’m not really interested in either claim but the dairy-free aspect piqued my interest so I bought a bottle to try out.

I’m not going to sugar coat it, Baileys Almande is pretty nasty.  From the appearance, to the smell, to the taste, it’s NOT a substitute for the real thing.  I’m not sure what they were going for with this product but I think they need to go back to the drawing board.

I’m going to fix a small glass over ice right now, just for you, and try to explain what it’s like:

Appearance – Baileys Almande is very watery, similar to plain almond milk.  Maybe that’s what the beeswax helped improve?  It’s almost thinner than water!

Smell – Slight almond smell that’s not entirely pleasant or natural.

Taste – The first sip is the worst.  You’re expecting that warm and creamy mouth feel that comes with regular Baileys.  You don’t get any of that here.  It’s like a clammy limp-wristed weak handshake from a mortician at a funeral.  Yeah I’m sorry for my loss of $20 too.

Aftertaste – OK it seriously gets worse after you swallow.  You’ll experience a bitter taste followed by what I can only explain as chalky and slimy.  It lingers way longer than you want or expect.  Another sip only amplifies the first experience and the aftertaste builds upon itself.

I’d love to know how many people make a subsequent purchase after their first experience.  I know I’m staying far far away from this stuff and I’ll take my chances with the original.

Have you tried Baileys Almande?  What was your experience?

 

8 thoughts on “Review – Baileys Almande”

  1. Revolting! I saved it for St Patricks day, really was looking forward to it but have suffered through two glasses and thrown the rest down the sink. Disgusting taste and consistency.

  2. Vile. Smells like gone off milk.

    And worse than that, l couldn’t get the smell it if the glass l used. It tainted every drink after that.

  3. waited over a year to try it, always sold out. So excited last night finally getting it. Waved it at everyone at the party “Woohoo!” It was absolutely disgusting, can’t even describe the taste. People were passing it about as a dare to sip it.

  4. Josh is about to receive this as a long waited for Christmas gift. Let’s see what the family think of it…

  5. I really like it. I suppose if you’re expecting the original product, that’s not what you’re going to get, but as a drink in its own right, I found it very pleasant. The almond flavour was a bonus for me too.

  6. This is the first honest review about Bailey’s almond. I did not like it all. Fully agree. No second bottle for me. Prefer Licor 43 Orochato.

  7. It is disgusting. No one would ever drink this twice. I rarely drink and am pretty broke, but I got it as a warming, creamy winter treat as I recently turned Vegan (ie.’Dairy Free’). I can’t see me having another glass. Might as well sling it and the £20. I tried mixing it with coffee, as per the suggestion on the bottle, but I’d rather just have a coffee instead and I don’t really like coffee.

  8. Beyond nasty, my other half thought he’d get me a nice holiday drink and boy were we shocked. 4 hours later and I can still and smell it and taste it, neither of which I want to remember.

    Might need some hard liquor, to deal with the disappointment.

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