homemade irish cream liqueur.

hello, march.

i wasn’t quite ready for your arrival. you kinda snuck up on me, and once i realized you were here, i panicked a little.

you see, i’m getting married in december. i hadn’t noticed how quickly this year is going by already, until i realized you were here, march. you’ve made me think of all the diy projects i haven’t started. all the vendors i still need to contact. all the workouts i still need to do. thanks march, you jerk.

all of this thinking and stressing and freaking out certainly makes having a drink wholly, completely necessary.

so march, since you’re here and all, i made you a drink. in your honor. a fitting tribute to you, since you are a month which is commonly associated with drinking, as well as all things irish.

i made irish cream liqueur. from scratch. in like, three minutes. it’s kinda scary how good it is. thick, rich, sumptuous, indulgent, terrific, and strong. real strong.

i hope you’ll make some, too. it’ll last all month long, and you can use it in so many different ways. drink it on the rocks. mix up a boozy milkshake. make some crazy good ice cream. sneak it into your morning coffee. shhh. i won’t tell.

make it as weak or as strong as you’d like. you can use up to half (half!) a 750-ml bottle of whiskey in this recipe. that’s a lot of booze, friends.

here’s the obligatory ‘omg there’s raw egg in this beverage’ warning: if you’re a child, knocked up, or super-old, you might not want to use the raw eggs. but then again, if you’re a child, you probably shouldn’t make homemade irish cream. i mean, unless you’re a badass.

just kidding.

you could also buy some pasteurized eggs if you’re freaked out by drinking something with raw eggs in the mix.

so cheers to the arrival of march, and the perfect liquid antidote to any of your worries and cares. it works. trust me.

irish cream liqueur

adapted from the hungry mouse

yield: about four & a half cups

Ingredients:

6-12 ounces irish whiskey, depending on how strong you like it (you can use blended scotch whiskey too!)
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (make your own, it's easy! check out my recipe!
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

crack eggs into a bowl, removing any shell pieces.

add all ingredients except the whiskey to the blender, and process until smooth and frothy.

pour whiskey into the blender, and process to distribute throughout mixture.

set a strainer over a bowl and pour irish cream through, straining out any bits of egg or espresso powder that didn't get fully incorporated into the mixture.

using a funnel, ladle into clean, sterilized bottles.

screw the tops on the bottles tightly, and store in the fridge.

label your bottles with a "use-by" date, as the irish cream will keep for 30 days from the day you make it if stored properly in the fridge.

the cream will naturally separate when stored in the fridge, simply shake the bottle gently to mix everything together.

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