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I Invented Baileys (2017)

irishtimes.com

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Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#81
post #79

This job just seems so alien to me. How do you get a job where major corporations just task you with things like “Come up with a new product for us. Something Irish themed. Alcoholic.“ And all you have to deliver is a basic concept? Someone else figures out all the logistics and how to deliver at scale? How much do they pay for that? (Oh £3000 per the article. Still, in 1973 money, for a few hours work, not bad)

3000 pounds flat rate, from the article.

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#82
post #79

This job just seems so alien to me. How do you get a job where major corporations just task you with things like “Come up with a new product for us. Something Irish themed. Alcoholic.“ And all you have to deliver is a basic concept? Someone else figures out all the logistics and how to deliver at scale? How much do they pay for that? (Oh £3000 per the article. Still, in 1973 money, for a few hours work, not bad)

Not a few hours work. Also R&D on the recipe, market research, figuring out a bottle, designing and printing labels, etc?

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#83
post #22

I was hoping he would describe the work needed to make it shelf—stable. After all, anyone can mix cream, sugar, whisky and chocolate powder but that concoction will soon turn sour, clot, separate, etc. Also I seem to remember hearing an earlier version of this origin story where a can of condensed milk was used in the first experiment instead of cream. Is the solution as simple as basing it on ultra pasteurized cream…

Once you go over 16% or so alcohol, no cell will grow in it. That’s why alcohol above that is distilled: the alcohol starts inactivating the yeast. Just make sure it’s pasteurized to begin with (or good source control) and it’ll stay clean. Something acts like the surfactant to keep it from separating. Probably not mustard like in a salad dressing :).

I've definitely seen (or felt) a separated bottle of Bailey's before. My uncle had one that sat in his liquor cabinet for over a year. When I tried to pour it, the liquid that came out was a thin, disgusting color, and the bottle itself felt like a carton of milk that had turned to cottage cheese (e.g. there was definitely a solid mass in the center of it, floating inside the thinner liquid).

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can absolutely agree on the turbo yeast part. I have fermented some apples with turbo yeast and they were able to bring it up to about 21% (but with added sugar).

How "recent" are the developments of those turbo yeasts though? I wouldn't be surprised we figured out how to create those only in the last century using modern scientific insights.

It was popular to study fermentation, because nobody knew how it worked. Anton van Leeuwenhoek (the "inventor" of the microscope [0] around 1670) was the first person who saw yeast cells, but nobody knew what it was. In 1880s people realized what yeast is and that it was behind fermentation. Around 1900 breweries began using (their) specific yeast string. Yeast was the first eukaryote which genome was completly sequenced, in 1996. So, yes, research in yeast is relativly modern.

If you are interested in this topic, I can recommend the book "Proof: The Science of Booze" [1] which has a chapter on yeast and a following one on fermenation.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonie_van_Leeuwenhoek

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18222694-proof

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#85
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, true but he's still one of "us", just like Sid James, Chris Froome, Gordon Murray ...or my Irish Mum. ;)

And Bob Holness, the first actor to play James Bond. But not, alas, the saxophonist on Baker Street. My mum's Irish too, but can't stand Bailey's.

Second actor, preceded by Barry Nelson: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310853/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_14

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#86
post #3

Does anyone find the large price premium that Baileys commands over its many imitations worth it? In the U.S. I used to regularly buy one called Molly's and that name has stuck with me since. I still write Molly's on my shopping list here in Europe.

I buy Irish whiskey at CostCo and if I want something like Baileys, I can make it myself in a shaker.

Honestly, chocolate-Irish ice cream is very good, but so is chocolate-Bourbon or chocolate-rum.

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#87
post #79

This job just seems so alien to me. How do you get a job where major corporations just task you with things like “Come up with a new product for us. Something Irish themed. Alcoholic.“ And all you have to deliver is a basic concept? Someone else figures out all the logistics and how to deliver at scale? How much do they pay for that? (Oh £3000 per the article. Still, in 1973 money, for a few hours work, not bad)

A lot of the stories I've heard from people who've worked at places like Ogilvy have taken a similar tack.

More often, though, advertising agencies redefine a (often failing) product through rebranding. Such as a gin to which they added cucumber - unusual at the time - to make it seem classy and British to American consumers, or Diamond Shreddies: https://fameable.com/diamond-shreddies-rebranding-case-study...

Re: I Invented Baileys (2017)

#89
post #4

Always took a perverse pleasure in reminding my proud Irish relations that Baileys Irish Cream was invented by some "Brit" out of a lab in Essex, England in the 1970s. They just loved that one. :P I'd still pay the premium for Baileys. It's like buying off brand "Pringles"; you might save a small bit and the tin might look pretty similar but they taste is never taste quite right.

Coole Swan is nicer by far, if you ever get the chance to try it.
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