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Best cream liqueurs to indulge in this Christmas

From Irish cream classics to winter warmers and chocolate tipples, we’ve taste-tested the crème de la crème

Kayleigh Rattle
Tuesday 17 December 2024 06:56 EST
‘Tis the season to enjoy a delicious blend of cream and drinks like Irish whiskey, rum, vodka or even tequila
‘Tis the season to enjoy a delicious blend of cream and drinks like Irish whiskey, rum, vodka or even tequila (The Independent)
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Served on the rocks, poured into a steaming cup of coffee or in a hot chocolate topped with squirty cream, cream liqueurs in recent years have become synonymous with Christmas.

Typically made with whiskey – or an alternative spirit such as rum or tequila – and blended with cream, these indulgent liqueurs are great to have on hand to serve guests, or to enjoy with your feet up in front of a festive film.

From the first field-to-table cream liqueur to strawberry-flavoured cream tequila, there are all manner of options to choose from if you’re looking to try a new – or established – cream liqueur.

We had the enviable task of determining the top 10 and tried more than 20 different varieties in the process (while watching a festive film and enjoying a mince pie on the side, naturally). Keep reading for those that will make your Christmas very merry indeed.

How we tested

We raised a glass to Christmas a little early this year
We raised a glass to Christmas a little early this year (Kayleigh Rattle)

When it comes to criteria, taste was obviously a big consideration. We were looking for a pleasurable balance of cream and alcohol: not too strong that it was unenjoyable, and not too creamy that it was sickly. The quality of ingredients, mouthfeel and consistency, packaging and price point were also taken into consideration.

The best cream liqueurs for Christmas 2024 are:

  • Best overall – Five Farms Irish cream liqueur 70cl: £36, Harveynichols.com
  • Best budget cream liqueur – Extra Special white chocolate spiced cream liqueur: £8, Asda.com
  • Best chocolate liqueur – Mozart chocolate cream liqueur: £14, Amazon.co.uk

Five Farms Irish cream liqueur 70cl

Best cream liqueurs IndyBest review Five Farms Irish cream liqueur 70cl
  • Best: Overall
  • ABV: 17%
  • Volume: 70cl
  • Why we love it
    • Small batch
    • Deliciously creamy

Crafted with cream gathered from five family-owned farms from the Cork coast, this rich and creamy liqueur is made with premium triple-distilled Irish whiskey. The small-batch liqueur has a wonderfully clean and velvety mouthfeel and is bursting with rich butterscotch and caramel notes. While at 17% ABV, it may have a higher whiskey than other options, it’s wonderfully balanced thanks to its rich creaminess. It tastes homemade – in the best possible way – and we love the ceramic swing-top lid, which is a playful nod to vintage milk bottles. Quite frankly, it’s worth every penny.

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Extra Special white chocolate spiced cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur Indybest review Extra Special white chocolate spiced cream liqueur.
  • Best: Budget cream liqueur
  • ABV: 17%
  • Volume : 70cl
  • Why we love it
    • Perfectly spiced

New for 2024, Asda’s extra special white chocolate spiced cream liqueur is creamy, well-spiced and laced with rich chocolate notes. Made with triple distilled wheat-based British vodka that’s been blended with smooth Irish whiskey, Madagascan vanilla, aromatic clove, cassia and nutmeg and rich double cream, it’s a cream liqueur with a twist.

It provides a festive kick but is nicely balanced by the sweet, spiced chocolate flavours. It’s delicious on the rocks, but better yet, shake it in a cocktail shaker and pour it into a chilled Martini glass to enjoy a deliciously creamy foam top. A bargain.

  1.  £8 from Asda.com
Prices may vary
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Mozart chocolate cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur IndyBest review Mozart chocolate cream liqueur
  • Best: Chocolate liqueur
  • ABV: 17%
  • Volume : 500ml
  • Why we love it
    • Deluxe chocolate hit

A chocolate lover’s dream, Mozart chocolate cream is rich, unctuous and luxurious, and guaranteed to make your Christmas one to remember. The gilded foil bauble-like bottle is a touch of class, and the contents live up to their packaging. Made with natural ingredients including African and Caribbean cocoa, Belgian dark chocolate, Madagascan bourbon vanilla and double cream, this superlative liqueur from Salzburg has been crafted since 1979 and is just the thing to enjoy in cocktails – or on the rocks.

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The Norfolk Nog cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur IndyBest review The Norfolk Nog cream liqueur
  • Best: English whisky cream liqueur
  • ABV: 19%
  • Volume : 500ml
  • Why we love it
    • Made with English whiskey

Scooping up an impressive array of awards, including bronze at the 2024 Great British Food Awards and Best English Cream at the 2022 World Liqueur Awards, Norfolk-made Norfok Nog superbly blends English single malt whisky with cream.

It’s rich and velvety and the flavours are beautifully balanced, making it a delicate but not too overpowering sip. It also comes housed in a stylish blue bottle and will make a great Christmas Day treat – or gift. For added kudos, it’s made by The English Distillery, England’s oldest registered whiskey distillery.

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Baileys original Irish cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur IndyBest review Baileys original Irish cream liqueur
  • Best: Crowd-pleaser
  • ABV: 17%
  • Volume: 1l
  • Why we love it
    • Christmas classic

When you mention cream liqueurs, Baileys typically springs to mind. It’s become so synonymous with Christmas that supermarkets compete with heavily discounted offers on bottles, and it’s globally the most popular Irish cream liqueur. A crowd-pleaser for a reason, it’s delicious poured on the rocks, into a coffee or hot chocolate or shaken into a cocktail. Made with Irish whiskey, cream, enriched chocolate and vanilla flavours, it’s Christmas in a glass for many.

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Cotswolds cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur IndyBest review Cotswolds cream liqueur
  • Best: For serving with dessert
  • ABV: 17%
  • Volume: 700ml
  • Why we love it
    • Delightfully sweet

Sweet, fruity and wonderfully drinkable, this lovely liqueur from Cotswolds Distillery, the makers of Cotswolds dry gin, is made in small batches and combines Cotswolds single malt spirit with fresh Irish cream. As well as tasting delicious on its own, it’s fantastic served over ice cream – trust us. Definitely one to serve during the dessert course on Christmas Day, or to have as dessert.

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Warninks original advocaat

Best cream liqueur IndyBest review Warninks original advocaat
  • Best: Advocaat
  • ABV: 17.2%
  • Volume : 70cl
  • Why we love it
    • Cocktail essential

An essential component of the classic festive cocktail, the snowball, Warninks’ iconic and distinctively yellow advocaat dates back to 1616. Made from eggs, brandy and sugar, this Dutch liqueur is rich, creamy and custard-like. Alongside snowballs, it sings in fluffy duck and squashed frog cocktails. Or, enjoy it as-is for a vanilla-flavoured libation.

  1.  £15 from Tesco.com
Prices may vary
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Bumbu Cream rum liqueur

Best cream liqueur Indybest review Bumbu Cream rum liqueur.
  • Best: Rum-based liqueur
  • ABV: 15%
  • Volume : 70cl
  • Why we love it
    • Tastes like a chai latte

Brimming with warming winter spices as well as a welcome sweetness and notes of vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon on the tongue, Bumbu Cream is reminiscent of an iced chai latte. From the makers of Bumbu Rum – which uses sugarcane sourced from across the West Indies – this tasty tipple hails from Barbados and is made with Bumbu Rum, spices and cream. A great liqueur for the cocktail cart.

  1.  £22 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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Dead Man’s Fingers strawberry tequila cream liqueur

Best cream liqueur Indybest review Dead Man’s Fingers strawberry tequila cream liqueur.
  • Best: For hard shakes
  • ABV: 15%
  • Volume: 500ml
  • Why we love it
    • Tastes like strawberry milkshake

With the sweetness and pastel pink hue of a strawberry milkshake, this tequila-laced strawberry liqueur from Cornish-based rum pioneers Dead Man’s Fingers makes a seriously delicious hard shake and tastes just like strawberries and cream. Simply blend with milk and ice cream and top with squirty cream for the ultimate party tipple.

  1.  £13 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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The verdict: Cream liqueurs

For its rich creaminess, velvety mouthfeel and generous Irish whiskey kick, Five Farms Irish cream liqueur comes out top for us, while Mozart chocolate cream is also worth the accolades for its quality ingredients, chocolate-rich flavour and irresistible texture.

We’ve also been taste-testing the best mince pies to serve this Christmas

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