"Baileys" news and stories

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

We all have our vices: Some live for libations while others pine for sweets. In St. Louis these two groups can merge in one ecstatic, sugar-fueled pit of sin at Bailey's Chocolate Bar. A lengthy menu of treats includes dramatic desserts, award-winning cocktails and sometimes the two in one beautiful bite (Irish Cream cheesecake, anyone?).

Beer is another of Chocolate Bar's specialties, as it boasts one of STL's most highly-regarded draft lists. A few selections seem obvious (such as Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Arcadia Cocoa Loco) but the bar also boasts a namesake brew, Bailey's Chocolate Bar Chocolate Ale. Of course, a great beer bar can't just stock stouts, and general manager Gene Bailey says they strive for "good enough variety where everyone can find something they like." Many of the current taps come from one brewery: "We're big fans of the New Belgium [Fat Tire] people," Gene admits. Beyond pure pints, Bailey's happily mingles sugar & suds: The Stout Beer Shake, blending chocolate stout and cinnamon ice cream, is a favorite.

Check out Bailey's Chocolate Bar's complete draft list after the jump, tell us if you've got a favorite chocolate beer and get your indulgence on in person next time you're in St. Louis.

We're not being coy. "Bailey's with a Hint of Coffee" really is the name of the new Bailey's flavor.

So. It's sort of like an Irish Coffee (if by Irish Coffee you mean coffee and Bailey's, not coffee and whiskey), but way easy on the coffee. And no heat.

You could add this to coffee...but then why not just use regular Bailey's? You could drink it over ice, but honestly, coffee-flavor is not what we want from Bailey's. The Mint flavor? Yeah. The Caramel Creme? Delicious. Coffee? We'll take Tia Maria over this any day--or better yet, Patron XO, the tequila-coffee liqueur.

Our verdict? Bailey's with a Hint of Coffee is unnecessary. Inoffensive, but unnecessary. It's getting cold out there, and Bailey's is best neat, over ice, or in your hot coffee.

Continuing with the "numbered cocktail" theme, I think this is the first drink of the Happy Hour series I've posted that's served in a shot glass.

This is the 747. Not sure why it's named after an airplane, but some cocktails have mysterious origins. This is made with Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Cream, and Frangelico. From those ingredients I'm sure you can tell immediately what it might taste like and if you'd like it or not.

We've been following the Baileys Drinkable Desserts contest for several weeks now, in which both professional and amateur mixologists could put together their most inventive concoctions and put them up for public voting, with the hopes of winning the grand prize of a trip to New York City for two for a private cooking class in the Gourmet Cooking Arts Center with Chef de Cuisine, Jennifer Day. The contest coincided with the launch of Bailey's two new flavored liqueurs, Baileys Mint Chocolate and Baileys Caramel. The liqueurs proved to be good choices for baking, as well as for making cocktails, but some of our favorite entries included the Caramel Apple Pie-Tini, The Baileys Vanilla Bean and I Want S'More.

The contest just finished up and the two winners have been announced: Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake in Mint Condition (amateur, pictured) and Mocha Mint Bavarian (pro). The recipe are after the jump.

Baileys has launched a Drinkable Desserts contest to promote their new flavors of cream liqueurs - Baileys Mint Chocolate and Baileys Caramel - which were created to give fans of Baileys Original Irish Cream a few new flavor options. The contest calls drinkers to come up with a drink recipe that features one of the three flavors and is inspired by a real dessert, making the cocktail a drinkable dessert and a holiday indulgence.

You won't be able to see all the recipes and vote on your favorite one until after December 18th, but that still gives you plenty of time to pick up a bottle of Baileys so that you can give your favorites a try over the Christmas holiday or New Year's. The voting will last until January 21st, when the winning recipe will be selected. The grand prize winner will receive a trip to New York City for two for a private cooking class in the Gourmet Cooking Arts Center with Chef de Cuisine, Jennifer Day and the winning recipe will be featured in the April 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine.

Read on for the recipe for Baileys Caramel Apple Pie-tini (pictured).

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