South African native David Gluckman was tasked with creating a new brand for International Distillers and Vinters (IDV), which later became spirits powerhouse Diageo, to export from Ireland. One morning in May of 1973, he and his business partner Hugh Reade Seymour-Davies ran to a London supermarket, where they bought a bottle of Jameson and a tub of single cream (a British dairy product).

It shares roots with a popular Irish butter

The idea of applying dairy to an alcoholic beverage was sparked by Gluckman, who helped create the Kerrygold brand in the early 1960s. Kerrygold produces Irish butter and cheese, and is still very popular today.

Chocolate was the key ingredient

Cream and whiskey alone were "bloody awful," according to Gluckman, so he and Seymour-Davies added some sugar and Cadbury's Powdered Drinking Chocolate. The whole process of finding a winning formula took just 45 minutes, although it was tweaked before hitting the market.

It was off-brand for IDV to buy the idea

Gluckman put the concoction in a Schweppes tonic bottle and brought it to an IDV executive named Tom Jago. The company was strongly focused on wine, sherry, gin, whiskey and vodka, but the visionary Jago (who also played a role in developing Malibu Rum and Johnnie Walker Blue) loved the drink, so he gave it a chance.

It was named after a restaurant

In coming up with a name for the brand, the creative team wanted it to be Anglo-Irish (relating to both Britain and Ireland) instead of just Irish because they thought something like "O'Reilly's Irish Cream" would've sounded whimsical. After stumbling upon a restaurant in London called Bailey's Bistro, Gluckman called Jago and proposed they call the beverage "Baileys." He instantly bought it.

The first label had a fake address

Because Baileys' production plant did not yet exist, the first label bore a fake address for "The Dairy Distillery, County Monaghan."

Male taste-testers dubbed it a 'girl's drink'

Before Baileys was brought home to Ireland, it was tested in Britain. An all-male group drank it down, but one particularly boisterous man felt uncomfortable about it. "I'm a pint drinker," he protested. "And when I've had enough beer I move to ... Scotch or vodka." He added that Baileys is "a girl's drink." The other men nodded in agreement - although their glasses were empty.

Women weren't initially fans, either

After the men had their taste, a focus group of women tried Baileys. One said it looked and tasted like kaolin and morphine, an over the counter medicine for diarrhea.

A true sign of hope came from policemen

After the focus groups proved unsuccessful, Gluckman put two bottles behind the bar at a pub called Allsop Arms. After a short time collecting dust, it was discovered by two policemen, who polished off a whole bottle. That was all the evidence Gluckman needed to make the trek to Dublin, where the brand launched one year later.

The company that owns it has a semi-fictional name

The "R&A" in R&A Bailey & Co. (the company named on the back of the bottle) doesn't really mean anything. In coming up with the initials, Gluckman glanced down at the sports page of The Guardian and saw a headline mentioning the R&A, the governing body for golf outside of North America, and ran with it.

Its creator also made other spirits brands

In addition to Baileys Irish Cream, David Gluckman helped create Le Piat d'Or (a sweet wine), Purdey's (a soft drink), Aqua Libra (a sparkling water that was reportedly Princess Diana's favorite drink), Tanqueray Ten Gin, Cîroc Vodka, Coole Swan (a white chocolate cream liqueur) and more.

It's the best-selling liqueur in the world

Although drinks industry tycoon Abe Rosenberg famously predicted that it would never sell in the U.S., Baileys quickly became the top-selling liqueur in America and the rest of the world.

The Baileys 'Snowball' was a disaster

In the U.K., Baileys largest competition was Advocaat, an egg-based Dutch liqueur. One popular cocktail recipe, the Snowball, contained Advocaat mixed with lemonade. Baileys' decided to emulate it by combining the liqueur with lemonade as well, but it ended up curdling into a "chewable dirt substance" that one bartender called "gorilla snot."

It's a key ingredient in a terrible shot

The Cement Mixer is a popular "prank shot" that consists of one part Baileys and one part lime juice. First you take the shot of Baileys (holding it in your mouth) quickly followed by the lime juice. When you swish the two together in your mouth you'll feel it begin to curdle and stick to your teeth like cement.

It's sold (almost) everywhere

Baileys is sold and served in every country where alcohol is legally consumed.

It contains real Irish cream

Each year, 220 million liters of fresh milk are used to make the cream found in Baileys. This comes from 38,000 dairy cows on 1,500 family-owned farms located primarily on the east coast of Ireland.

It's shelf stable

Baileys claims it is the only cream liqueur that guarantees taste for two years from the day it was made, opened or unopened, in the fridge or pantry, as long as it's stored away from direct sunlight in temperatures ranging from 32 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The whiskey used in Baileys acts as a natural preservative for the cream, so technically it's shelf stable.

There are a variety of different flavors

Currently, Baileys offers its original chocolate-vanilla variety along with Salted Caramel, Espresso Creme, Chocolate Cherry, Vanilla Cinnamon and non-dairy Almande Almondmilk, plus seasonal or limited-edition flavors including Strawberries and Cream and Pumpkin Spice.

Duty-free shops sell a ton of Baileys

The top 10 markets for Baileys are the U.S., Great Britain, Global Duty Free, Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, Austria, France and Russia.

People drink a lot of it every day

People around the globe consume approximately 2,300 glasses of Baileys every minute of every day, both in the comfort of their own homes as well as at the 75 most popular bars in America.

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