Christmas is the ideal season for indulging in creamy liqueur drinks, whether enjoyed neat or mixed into cocktails. Baileys often leads the pack with supermarkets vying to offer the biggest festive discounts. However, chocoholics can find alternatives to the iconic cream liqueur this holiday season, thanks to Hotel Chocolat’s wide range of chocolate vodka creams.
The UK-based chocolate makers have gained a reputation for their top-selling Velvetiser gadget, a consistent Christmas hit that produces silky smooth hot chocolates. For those who desire a bit more punch in their sweet treats, there’s a wide variety of Velvetised Chocolate Cream liqueurs, with flavours spanning from classic chocolate to salted caramel, mint and beyond. As someone who has been hoarding Baileys for the Christmas cupboard since Amazon dropped the price for Black Friday and who has reviewed multiple flavours, I was keen to sample some of the most popular Hotel Chocolat alternatives.
Moreover, while they’re readily available not just at Hotel Chocolat and various other shops and supermarkets in store and online now is absolutely the time to snap them up in Amazon’s Black Friday Week sale – which has bottles from £17, well below everywhere else selling them currently, reports the Mirror.
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Firstly, don’t be fooled by the milkshake-like appearance of the Velvetised Cream range. Each flavour packs a vodka-infused punch, with an ABV of 12%. Remember to give them a good shake before pouring to achieve maximum velvetiness – I learned this the hard way with the Salted Caramel version. These are my top picks:
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Velvetised Cream
Starting with the classic chocolate cream seemed like a logical first step, given its simplicity. Hotel Chocolat is known for its high-quality cacao and ingredients, so there’s no room for error here – not that there needs to be. The chocolate flavour is rich and delectable, making it more chocolatey than creamy or vodka-laden.
This means a little goes a long way – if you’re someone who can devour a whole box of chocolates in one sitting, this is an ideal way to satisfy your chocolate cravings without overdoing it. A single serving of this over ice is akin to an adult version of chocolate milk, boasting a surprisingly complex depth of flavour and a richness that means you’d struggle to drink more than a glass at a time. For some it might feel a bit sickly – I didn’t mind it but preferred the lighter flavours – but for chocoholics this is the perfect cream liqueur.
Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Velvetised Cream
If you have a sweet tooth then the Salted Caramel option is definitely the one to go for. As soon as you open the bottle you can smell the sweetness and both the scent and the taste has an echo of Caramac about it that is comforting and delicious. As with all the velvetised creams, it’s really noticeable that while you can taste the alcohol it’s not got the bitter kick that I’ve had from some flavoured vodkas. It’s smooth and delicious although definitely sweeter than perhaps you’d expect from a salted caramel.
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Velvetised Mint Cream
I am very partial to the flavour of mint, second only to a zesty ginger it’s a culinary cheat code to get me choosing a drink or meal in a restaurant. But with that depth of love comes a strong opinion: The best mint is zingy, with an almost alpine coolness to it that cuts through sweetness. The worst mint tastes like toothpaste and can never be forgiven – I still think bitterly about a much-anticipated ice cream eaten on holiday aged eight that was more Colgate than Cornetto.
Thankfully the Hotel Chocolat mint cream is basically dream mint for afficionados. Not sweet, with an undertone of menthol a lovely but surprisingly smooth kick. It’s basically liquid After Eight with oomph and I was pretty sure I’d found my favourite from the range. Little did I know.
Hotel Chocolat Espresso Martini Velvetised Cream
As a long-time fan of Baileys, I didn’t anticipate this taste test inspiring me to add anything new to my Christmas drinks cabinet alongside my usual liqueur stash. However, the Espresso Martini cream is something truly extraordinary, and I’ve already bought a bottle to take advantage of the 26% Black Friday discount to share with guests this festive season.
Out of all the bottles I opened, this one had the most incredible aroma. It smells like coffee and has a real wow factor. The taste is essentially tiramisu in a glass – creamy, slightly boozy, and with a coffee kick that fills your nostrils while delighting your tastebuds. With a wide variety of Hotel Chocolat Velvetised Creams available this Christmas, there’s something for everyone. But for me, this glass of pure joy is absolutely the flavour to go for.
Final verdict
If you’re seeking a Baileys alternative this Christmas and a Black Friday bargain to boot, Amazon’s discounts on the Hotel Chocolat Velvetised Cream range makes them an excellent choice, with the Espresso Martini variant being a standout classic. At £23 for a 500ml bottle directly from Hotel Chocolat the liqueurs might be a little overpriced for what they are – they definitely fall into the ‘you’d give it as a gift but wait for an offer to buy for yourself.’ But with Amazon having reduced the prices by up to 26%, taking them down to as little as £17.10 for Black Friday season now is absolutely the time to give it a go – especially with the Espresso Martini being one of the cheapest.
Amazon’s Black Friday deals have lots of other alcohol deals for fans of both traditional Baileys which is reduced to as little as £10 and also spirits like single malt whiskeys, with a bottle of Tallisker Skye reduced by 47% to £25.50. Meanwhile if you’re looking for vintage, limited edition and premium alcohol gifts, The Bottle Club is also reducing prices on all kinds of tipples for Black Friday.