If your Baileys is on the brink of expiring and you can’t bear to part with your precious liquor, you might start wondering if you can freeze it for down the line?
Technically you can freeze Bailey’s, but you really shouldn’t because its ingredients will degrade and affect the taste of this delicious liqueur.
Keep reading to learn more about why it’s a bad idea to freeze Baileys and discover the best ways to store it.
How Well Does Baileys Freeze?
Baileys freezes poorly due to the makeup of its ingredients.
Liquid dairy products are notorious for freezing poorly, as the fat separates from them when it freezes. As a result, you can expect a slushy or grainy texture when you thaw it.
It just so happens that Baileys contains both milk and cream—two terrible dairy products for freezing.
Furthermore, it’s unlike that the Irish whisky in Baileys will freeze in your standard home freezer.
The reason is that Irish whisky has a high ethanol content, meaning that it has an incredibly low freezing point—negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).
Therefore, you’d need a special industrialized freezer to get the temperature low enough where your Baileys would freeze. We love our Baileys, but it’s not worth it!
What Are the Alternatives to Freezing Baileys?
The best alternative to freezing Baileys is keeping it in your fridge. A refrigerated bottle of Baileys lasts upwards of two years, sometimes more if you’re willing to test it.
That said, some enthusiasts of Baileys insist that you should aim to drink it within six months of opening for ideal flavor and freshness.
That said, you don’t have to refrigerate your Baileys. Instead, Baileys’ high Irish whiskey content prevents it from going bad on the shelf for a long time despite its dairy and sugar ingredients.
How Do You Store Baileys?
You can store Baileys in your refrigerator or on the counter, depending on whether you prefer to drink it cold or lukewarm.
That said, Baileys does require a small amount of care to ensure you can take advantage of its naturally long shelf life. To improve the storage life of Baileys, we recommend the following:
- Leave it in its bottle
- Ensure the lid is tight
- Keep the bottle out of the sunlight
- Remove the bottle from any heat-inducing areas, like a stove
Baileys’ black bottle not only makes it look sleek but it prevents sunlight from reaching the liquid. For this reason, you’ll be hard-pressed to encounter a better storage container for Baileys than the bottle it comes in.
Although Baileys is notorious for its long shelf life, it isn’t immune to early spoilage after being opened. In fact, Baileys spoils faster than many other brands of liquor.
That’s because Baileys contains milk, cream, and sugar. These ingredients can speed up how quickly Baileys spoils if given the right conditions. Sunlight and heat are the two biggest spoilage culprits.
How Long Does Baileys Last?
Every Baileys bottle contains a two-year “best-before” date. That said, this isn’t an expiration date. Therefore, in theory, you can drink your Baileys after the date listed on the bottle.
Below are some tell-tale signs that it’s time to chuck your Baileys bottle:
- Clumpy texture
- Dark and cloudy appearance
- Musty or custard smell
Needless to say, a bad bottle of Baileys has similar qualities to curdled milk, given that it contains dairy.
However, if your bottle of Baileys is past its best-before date and you take a little sip, and it tastes normal, then it should be okay to consume.
What Are Examples of Baileys Recipes?
Now that you know the answer to “Can you freeze Baileys?” is that you shouldn’t, below are some great recipes for you to use up your bottle of Baileys before it expires:
- Baileys red velvet cupcakes
- Baileys chocolate fig pie
- Baileys fruit smoothie
- Baileys chocolatini
- Baileys mudslide
These are some of the many recipes that Baileys offers on their website for people looking for creative ways to use their Baileys.
Related Questions
How do you store Baileys after opening?
Baileys thrives at a temperature between 32 – 77 Fahrenheit, or 0-25 degrees Celsius. You should also keep it out of sunlight and heat sources.
By doing so, you can expect your Baileys bottle to enjoy its whole two-year lifespan.
Does Baileys last longer on the shelf or in the fridge?
Baileys has an equal shelf life of two years regardless of whether you keep it on the shelf or fridge. That said, the sooner you consume it after opening it, the stronger its flavor will be.
After the two-year mark, you might be able to squeeze a bit more shelf life out of a refrigerated Baileys bottle compared to a room temperature bottle.
Why doesn’t Baileys spoil on the shelf?
Baileys doesn’t spoil on the shelf because of its high Irish whisky content. The whisky functions as a preservative, tempering the milk, cream, and sugar in this liquor that would otherwise cause it to spoil quickly.
What happens if you freeze Baileys?
If you freeze Baileys, the fat from the cream and milk will separate. As a result, it’ll be nearly impossible to fully blend the fat molecules back into the liquid, even if you use a blender.
For this reason, it’s best to keep your Baileys in the fridge or on the counter instead of the freezer.
