It’s perhaps the most ostentatious limited release of Baileys of all time: Baileys Red Velvet, which is produced in collaboration with the well-regarded confectioners at Georgetown Cupcake.

You better believe it’s an honest-to-god liqueur version of red velvet cake, starting with the color, which is a somewhat horrifying shade of crimson that falls somewhere between Pepto-Bismol and a bottled smoothie picked up at Ikea. And here’s the crazy thing: If you can get past the color, it’s actually not awful.

There’s a strong and immediate vein of chocolate in the mix here, which gives the Irish cream a richer, more dessert-like consistency, with a flavor that is closer to milk chocolate than I was expecting. The gentle whiskey character of Baileys manages to peek through at times, but it is rather overwhelmed by all the sugar and chocolate syrup notes. The finish offers plenty of that classically cloying character that always seems to ride along with cream liqueurs, so tread lightly. And try not to look at the glass too much.

34 proof.

B / $28 / baileys.com 

Baileys Red Velvet

$28

8

Rating

8.0/10