Irish Cream Cold Brew: Starbucks Inspired Recipe (2024)

The Irish Cream Cold Brew is one of the newer Starbucks holiday drinks. It returns to Starbucks locations in the US in December!

Here’s how you can make one at home all year round.

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Is the Irish Cream Cold Brew seasonal?

Ever had an Irish Cream Cold Brew at Starbucks? If you haven’t had a chance to try it yet or haven’t even heard of it, you may have missed it because it is a seasonal beverage and a newer one too.

Joining the other Starbucks holiday classics like the Peppermint Mocha, which was released in 2002, the Carmel Brulee Latte in 2009 and Toasted White Chocolate Mocha in 2017, the Irish Cream Cold Brew was introduced in 2019. So it’s one of the newer Starbucks holiday beverages.

What’s in Starbucks Irish Cream Cold Brew?

The ingredients on the Starbucks website lists the following ingredients in the Irish Cream Cold Brew: Brewed Coffee, Ice, Vanilla Sweet Cream, Milk, Vanilla Syrup, Irish Cream Syrup, Cocoa Powder Topping.

They mix their Starbucks Cold Brew with Irish cream syrup and top it with a cloud of vanilla sweet cream cold foam and a hint of cocoa.

We’ll do something similar in our homemade Irish Cream Cold Brew using cold brew coffee and Irish cream syrup. Then topping it with our own cold foam and a line of cocoa powder right through the middle of the cold foam, just like Starbucks.

Here’s how to make it.

Irish Cream Cold Brew Ingredients

• ¼ cup cold brew concentrate
• ¾ cup water
• 1 tbsp Irish Cream syrup
• ¼ cup skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla syrup
• Milk frother

Tips for Making Irish Cream Cold Brew

Cold Brew Concentrate

This recipe requires cold brew coffee.

What is cold brew? It’s coffee that is not brewed hot. Instead, it is made by steeping coarsely ground coffee in room temperature water. You’ll need to give it about 12-14 hours before drinking.

How is this different from iced coffee? To make iced coffee, you brew hot coffee using any brewing method then just add ice. Whether you brew coffee using a French press or Keurig, for example, adding ice to it makes it iced coffee.

Cold brew offers a different flavor profile than you would get from simply putting ice in coffee to make it cold.

Now to make it, you don’t need any special equipment. As long as you have an empty jar, like a cleaned out pasta jar lying around the house, you can make cold brew coffee.

Read our guide to making cold brew coffee concentrate at home. You can use either a cold brew coffee maker, French press (my preferred method!) or an empty jar.

Additionally, you don’t have to exclusively use cold brew coffee. If you don’t want to wait for cold brew coffee, you can use iced coffee too.

Irish Cream Syrup

I used Monin Irish cream syrup.

Want to make this Irish Cream Cold Brew alcoholic? Swap out the Irish cream syrup for Baileys Irish Cream, an Irish cream liqueur.

Liquid Ratio

You’ll need milk and a milk frother to make the cold foam.

There are a few options you can try. I’ve tested many combinations of different types of milk, cream, half and half and non dairy alternatives.

It is recommended to use skim milk, as this will foam the best. My preferred ratio, however, is 3 tablespoons of skim milk and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. This allows for a slightly heavier and creamier foam.

Feel free to try various combinations after trying just skim milk to find your preferred texture.

Milk Frother

I used a Miroco milk frother, which has a cold milk froth setting.

It’s really convenient to use an electric milk frother. Just pour the milk in and while it froths, you can pour the cold brew into your glass. By then, the cold foam will be ready and it was all done very quickly.

If you don’t have an electric milk frother at home, a handheld milk frother will work just as well. You could also try shaking milk vigorously in a mason jar or pouring the milk in a French press and pulling down the plunger up and down multiple times until the milk froths.

How to Make Irish Cream Cold Brew

1. Make cold brew concentrate. This requires 12-14 hours of steeping coarsely ground coffee in water. Check out our guide to making cold brew coffee.
2. Pour cold brew concentrate into a glass. Add water and Irish cream syrup.
3. Froth milk and vanilla syrup in a milk frother.
4. Pour cold foam on top of the cold brew coffee.
5. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

In pictures…

Step 1

Make cold brew coffee concentrate.

Check out our guide to making cold brew concentrate with a French press or with a jar.

Step 2

Pour cold brew concentrate into a glass. Add water and Irish cream syrup.

Step 3

Froth milk and vanilla syrup in a milk frother.

Step 4

Pour cold foam on top of the cold brew coffee and sprinkle cocoa powder across the middle of the cold foam.

More Starbucks Inspired Recipes You May Like

• Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe
• How to Make Peppermint Mocha
• Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew Recipe

Irish Cream Cold Brew Recipe