Since 1865, the Hayden family have been successfully running their family farm, combining farming rituals with a strong focus on the importance of biodiversity. The now fourth generation of owners Joe and Michael Hayden strive to preserve the natural heritage of their dairy farm, it’s their way of life.
Once upon a time, a small, let’s say, determined group had a brilliant but lofty idea where they tried to have their cake and eat it too.
You see, our founders wanted to take two simple treasures that their country was known for, delicious dairy cream and world-renowned Irish whiskey, and combine them. It took two years of trial and error but by 1974 we had added the finest spirits, rich chocolate, and vanilla flavors (with some other flavors and ingredients) along with a little magic, to create the Baileys recipe we now know and love.
How is Baileys made? Instead of kicking back and coasting on the fact that we had created the world’s most loved spirit, we set our sights on innovation and delicious trend setting. And it all begins and ends with Baileys ingredients.
Just think about it. Every year, roughly 200 million liters of fresh Irish milk are required to produce the creamiest of cream used in the production of Baileys. That’s enough to make about 3.3 billion Baileys milkshakes, give or take.
This milk is mostly supplied from small, family-owned farms. Some of these thousands of acres are dotted with protected bog, natural woodland, wild meadows, and native hedgerows. Sanctuaries for small animals, birds, bees, and butterflies. Living the high life!
Now, we know how amazing our Irish whiskey is.Then, there’s the Irish whiskey and the fine spirits. The Irish have been distilling whiskey since somewhere around 1000 A.D., when Irish monks brought the technique home from their visits to Mediterranean countries. Since we’re getting historical here, the word whiskey translates from the Irish language to ‘water of life’.
What a thought, mixing the ‘water of life’ with other fine spirits and luscious cream, then adding rich chocolate & vanilla flavors with other flavors and ingredients. No wonder we’ve made such an incredibly delicious treat.
We’ll paint a picture for you. From early morning to the quiet calmness that comes with each evening’s heart-warming ritual ‘goodnights’, Joe spends most of his time on his local dairy farm peacefully tending to his cows.
Joe not only knows the mother of every cow in his herd, but he can also identify which cow belongs to which extended family. And it appears this love is mutual, “when I return from a holiday or short break the cows give me such a strange inquisitive look as if to say ‘where have you been’. I really think they miss me.”
