Not just for Christmas
Can it be that cream liqueurs are cool?
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Despite leading brands pushing it as a year-round tipple, cream liqueurs have for decades been the reliable festive nightcap you reach for when the kids are in bed. However, a rush to market from a growing number of brands, with an ever-extravagant range of flavours and playful attitude, have rendered the category newly cool, especially among younger imbibers.
The cream liqueur market used to be a lonely place. Though long popular and consumed with a clockwork regularity by a dedicated following, for a while, not much else was happening. Baileys has worked hard to build momentum, billing the brand as a year-round choice. Targeted limited editions have ranged from Pumpkin Spiced, to Summery Berry Pavlova, and most recently, Vanilla Mint Shake. And it’s been successful. But, one brand alone is not enough to build momentum and buzz around a category.
So who could have predicted, in a calorie-conscious world, against a Gen Z backdrop – a generation looking for the new and the edgy – that the category would undergo a youth-driven renaissance? It certainly didn’t seem likely. Unfortunately, the data we have is lagging behind the ramp up in activity even the last six months has seen, but IWSR figures show the global cream liqueur category grew 17% in volume terms in 2021 versus 2020, which is no small feat.
How did we get here?
Baileys dominance has forced innovation. Unlikely to replicate the colossal success of the mega-brand, new entrants have had to reimagine and redefine the category to target either a different consumer set, or, a different mood or moment. Or both.
Dead Man’s Fingers, a brand marketed under the tagline “Give tradition the finger” was one of the first of these new wave entrants to translate cream liqueurs for Gen Z. It launched a Raspberry Rum Cream Liqueur in January 2022, followed by a Strawberry, and a Mango Tequila Cream Liqueur. This August it added Black Cherry and Blue Raspberry flavours, again, with a disruptive tequila base.
Blue Raspberry, a flavour never found in nature but frequently found in Slush Puppies, Panda Pops, and almost all alcopops of the 90s, is a clear play for a non-cuddly version of nostalgia. And as well as dismantling all packaging codes previously attributed to cream liqueurs, the brand has been overt about claiming its own consumption moments. Mix your own hard milkshake, or shoot it.
Shots, shots, shots
Shots are integral to the category’s reinterpretation. Softer, more palatable, less boozy than other shot options, they’re a friendly alternative for a consumer group known for their moderation stance. And while cream may seem indulgent and at odds with health-focused lifestyles and dietary trends, there’s a growing movement of plant-based brands poised and ready.
Panther Milk is again, one of the earlier entrants, describing itself as ‘the world’s first oat milk cocktail liqueur’. Not for sipping – well, you can if you want to – it has targeted cocktails as its moment. With a range of vanilla, strawberry, mint and coffee options, it’s pushing serves such as mocha and latte martinis.
But when is a cocktail, not a cocktail? When it contains just one ingredient, we’d argue. Its perfect serve is 100ml of any flavour, shaken on ice, and topped with ground cinnamon and chocolate and popped in a nice glass. It’s a simple but appeasing move… make consumers feel special, elevate the drink, but essentially, give them exactly what they already had. And crucially, for a cost-conscious consumer group, it’s a one and done purchase for a finished drink. Smart.
Remix
Cream liqueurs are still having to work for year-round relevance though. And there’s signs that brands are emerging to move consumers up to either more sophisticated, or premium interpretations.
Kyrö Dairy Cream seems to cover all the bases. Or to let them tell it: “Lactose free and gluten free, this ain't your grandma's liqueur – this is Kyrö Dairy Cream, made using real cream and our rye whisky.” The brand hasn’t compromised on credible, quality ingredients, and seems to have come full circle back to the more traditional roots of the category, yet adapted to dietary restrictions. The brand has picked the failsafe ‘with coffee’ as its core consumption moment.
And brand new this week, there’s Limoncello di Capri Cream, a fusion of two categories. Producer Molinari again is focused on the quality of raw ingredients, including Sorrento lemons to, as it says “level-up your serve”. Launched for Christmas, it’s a clear play at the category’s traditional consumption moment. And yet, it’s a bright, zesty year-round flavour that lends itself to summer. Very smart.
Offering approachability, a faint whiff of nostalgia, a lower strength serve, a teeny bit of indulgence, a one ingredient finished drink that can be shot or made into ‘fancier’ cocktails, and an increasing array of appealing flavours and trending spirit bases, cream liqueurs appear to be starting to have their moment. With growing energy behind them, and a blank canvas when it comes to consumer expectations, we’re curious to see just where they’ll go next. In the meantime, is it too early to start adding a shot to our morning coffees as festive traditions dictate? No? Sweet.