Irish cream by Newry's Two Stacks is an important addition to Northern Ireland’s position as a major centre for the production of the liqueur

Do you enjoy an Irish cream liqueur? How do you know it’s really from Ireland?

A campaign has just been launched to curb the growing threat to Irish cream liqueurs, an important export industry which has key players in Northern Ireland from global imitators. Counterfeiters are mimicking bottle sizes and colours and labels to fool shoppers around the world.

The campaign has just been developed by Drinks Ireland, the Dublin-based trade association that is working to protect the Irish beverage which is set to break 10 million cases for the first time in exports to global markets.

The initiative comes as Two Stacks, a Newry-based innovator in Irish whiskey, says it has taken Irish cream liqueur to a new level in the shape of a premium product, a double Irish cream liqueur, that features significantly more whiskey, including, for the first time, a pot still distilled spirit with fresh butter cream and ingredients all sourced from Irish suppliers.

Shane McCarthy, a founding director of Two Stacks explains the new cream liqueur is the outcome of work over more than a year “to create a luxurious, complex and, most of all, delicious Irish cream liqueur”.

“Our aim was to create a cream liqueur unlike anything that has come before it”, adds Shane, who set up Two Stacks in 2020 with business partners Liam Brogan and Donal McLynn.

“What, we believe, sets our cream liqueur apart as a luxury taste experience is the unique blend of eight times the whiskey and twice the butter cream as compared to the market standard. We believe that we have pushed the boundaries of Irish whiskey from Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk and Irish cream to make the most indulgent drinking experience for customers.”

Cream liqueur is a fairly recent development in Irish alcoholic beverages – it was only created in 1974. Since then, it has reached every corner of the world, with 8.8 million nine litre cases consumed last year. The product, in addition, is protected by an EU listing that names Ireland as the only location where genuine Irish cream liqueur may be produced. This status, however, hasn’t deterred the imitators from other parts of the world from exploiting what they see as a market opportunity.

Two Stacks uses its award-winning Blenders Cut whiskey, a combination of four different styles of the golden spirit matured from Bourbon, Oloroso and virgin oak casks with a doubling of butter cream. Added to the blend is 2% peated malt for a richer flavour.

The new liqueur is an important addition to NI’s position as a major centre for the production of the liqueur. It’s home to Bailey’s Original, which is produced by Diageo in Newtownabbey for customers in over 60 countries and also uses cream from Coleraine and Niche Drinks in Londonderry.

Niche Drinks is now owned by Luxco of St Louis, Missouri, which has created the award-winning Saint Brendan’s and other similar beverages. Launched in 1983, Saint Brendan’s was Northern Ireland’s first Irish cream liqueur.

In response, Drinks Ireland, which represents whiskey and other producers across the island of Ireland, has published a new report which outlines the international trade protections that safeguard Irish cream liqueur. Despite these EU and other protections, there are a number of non-Irish products on the marketplace that aim to imitate the authentic liqueur.

According to Drinks Ireland, deceptive marketing and misleading labelling is commonly used by imitators and non-Irish producers to mislead the consumer into thinking that their product is genuine Irish Cream Liqueur, or of Irish origin. This can include the use of symbols like shamrocks, Irish harps and Celtic crosses.

Aengus King, director of Drinks Ireland Spirits, adds: “Our new campaign and report seeks to promote the category among key stakeholders. It profiles Irish cream liqueur producers across the island of Ireland, highlighting the unique, genuine and authentic nature of these products.”