What’s behind Five Farms’ ‘posh Baileys’? Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur is touted as the “world’s first farm-to-table” version of the tipple
Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur is touted as the “world’s first farm-to-table” version of the tipple. Launched in 2017 by McCormick Distilling Company, it sources its milk from five farms in County Cork. That focus on provenance commands a premium. In the UK, a 70cl bottle can be found in Sainsbury’s at a price of £22 – almost 20% costlier than the equivalent size of Baileys. We got the lowdown from McCormick’s business development manager, Seán Hanifin.
Where did the idea come from for the liqueur?
The idea came in 2016, when we noticed there was really no premium offering in the whole Irish cream liqueur space. It was quite a sizeable category, utterly dominated by one brand. Creation took about a year from start to finish.
It launched in the US in time for Thanksgiving in 2017 and then we launched in Ireland in 2018. We’re in about 20 countries at this stage.
What makes Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur premium?
Irish cream liqueur is a protected geographical indication product, so there’s a minimum amount of cream and whiskey that has to be in the product. We are at least 50% more than the minimum requirement for cream and 10 times above the technical specification standard for whiskey.
The drink has higher value than a commodity like cheese, butter, etc, and it has also more exportability as it doesn’t have to be transported in a temperature-controlled environment.
How will Donald Trump’s tariff on EU goods impact your business?
It’s very hard to say because it changes continuously. It will certainly reduce our budget to be able to promote the product – and that will be across all producers. But the trouble is more that we don’t know what will be announced next week or next month.
How does your relationship work with farmers?
We work with five farms that are members of Barryroe Co-op in Cork, and we pay a premium for our cream. We’re trying to work as closely as we can with the farmers. Irish cream liqueur is very much a dairy product with alcohol in it, as opposed to the other way around.
One of your farms has introduced a high-tech ear tag described as “FitBits for cows”. Why?
The tag on the ear helps in the health monitoring of individual cows. It’s quite unique to see it in action, especially when cows are coming into calving.
Another thing that is kind of neat is that farmers can identify quickly the cows they shouldn’t milk and should prevent from entering the milking parlour. Up to that point, a lot of that would have been nearly guesswork. It’s unobtrusive and it saves a lot of hassle.
How does the tag help yield and efficiency?
It’s mostly on the welfare side of things, but it also keeps the show on the road without having to intervene.
Farmers are getting a better average yield because the herd is looked after better. Monitoring is so important. Back in the day it was just reliant on the experienced eye. Now there’s real-life data that they can check every day: how much water has been used, what are the milk yields, etc.
Are there plans to roll out the tech further?
This is the first but in due course, they’ll all get into it. The whole point really is just to make life easier and take out a lot of guesswork.
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