In 1973, two London consultants were paid £3,000 to create a new Irish export drink. Their creation, developed in less than an hour using ingredients from a local supermarket, would go on to become one of the most successful spirit innovations in history. That drink was Baileys Irish Cream.
Today, Baileys remains the world’s biggest-selling liqueur brand, with annual sales of 8.2 million cases. While recent years have seen some fluctuation – including a 6.3% decline from 2022 to 2023 – the brand’s position at the top of the global liqueur market remains unchallenged. Diageo’s recent £26 million investment in production facilities underscores its confidence in the brand’s future.
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Yet when David Gluckman and Hugh Seymour-Davies first mixed Irish whiskey with cream that spring morning, they weren’t trying to create a global phenomenon. They were simply responding to a vague brief from International Distillers & Vintners (IDV) to create “something” for the Irish market.
By The Numbers:
- Initial development cost: £3,000 (equivalent to approximately £36,000 today)
- First year sales (1974): Limited to Ireland and UK markets
- 2022: 8.8 million cases sold globally
- 2023: 8.2 million cases
- Recent investment: £26 million production facility expansion (2023)
- Current position: World’s highest-selling liqueur brand
- Market presence: Available in over 180 countries
The meteoric rise from a quick experiment to global brand leader represents one of the spirits industry’s most remarkable success stories. Despite initial skepticism from industry veterans – including one prominent US distributor who famously declared “That shit will never sell!” – Baileys created an entirely new category in the spirits market, and continues to innovate with new variants and sustainable packaging initiatives.
The 45-Minute Innovation
The genesis of Baileys came from a moment of pressure-driven creativity. Armed with a bottle of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, single cream, and Cadbury’s Powdered Drinking Chocolate from a local supermarket, Gluckman and Seymour-Davies began experimenting. Their first mixture was “bloody awful,” but adding sugar transformed it. Within 45 minutes, they had their prototype in a cleaned-out Schweppes tonic bottle. The initial reaction from IDV’s technical team was skeptical – the drink didn’t look like any known liqueur and didn’t even taste like whiskey. Yet one technical director’s slight nod of approval was enough to keep the project alive.
From Test Bar to Global Empire
The first real-world test took place in London’s Allsop Arms pub, where two bottles sat gathering dust until a pair of policemen consumed an entire bottle in one afternoon. Initial market research was discouraging – men dismissed it as “a girl’s drink,” while women compared it to medicine. However, Australia proved to be the unexpected catalyst for success. The Australian market embraced Baileys so enthusiastically that liquor stores began posting “arriving next week” signs to manage demand. This success sparked a wave of imitators, with 75 competing cream liqueurs emerging within five years of launch.
The Billion-Bottle Legacy
Today, Baileys stands as a testament to innovative spirit-making. Despite recent challenges, including a 6.3% decline in 2023, Diageo’s £26 million investment in production facilities demonstrates strong confidence in the brand’s future. The original Irish cream continues to evolve, experimenting with new variants like Vanilla Mint Shake and pioneering sustainable packaging with trials of aluminum and paper bottles. From Eurovision Song Contest partnerships to eco-conscious initiatives, Baileys continues to adapt while maintaining its position as the world’s leading liqueur brand, selling 8.2 million cases annually across 180 countries.
From Book to Bottle: The Full Story
This remarkable story of accidental innovation and global success comes from David Gluckman’s engaging book “That S*it Will Never Sell!” – a title inspired by that famously incorrect prediction from the American distributor. The book offers fascinating insights not just into Baileys’ creation, but into the broader world of spirits innovation, including the development of other famous brands like Tanqueray Ten and Cîroc vodka.
For whisky enthusiasts and industry professionals alike, Gluckman’s firsthand account provides an invaluable glimpse into how some of the world’s most successful spirits brands were born. His story of turning a £3,000 consultancy fee into a billion-dollar brand serves as a masterclass in product development and the power of simple ideas.

You can find “That S*it Will Never Sell!” on Amazon, where Gluckman’s candid storytelling and insider perspective make it essential reading for anyone interested in the spirits industry or the art of innovation.