Units and calories in Irish cream liqueur

Find out how many units of alcohol and calories there are in Irish cream liqueur, and how that relates to the UK low risk drinking guidelines.

Irish cream liqueur is an alcoholic drink made by blending whisky with cream and sugar. But how much alcohol is in it, and how many calories?

How much alcohol is in Irish cream liqueur?

The minimum strength of liqueurs sold in the UK is 15% ABV (alcohol by volume).¹ Checking an Irish cream liqueur's label for its ABV tells you what percentage of the drink is made up of alcohol. For example, an Irish cream liqueur with 17% ABV is 17% pure alcohol.

A good way to keep track of how much you’re drinking is to know how many units of alcohol are in your drink. One unit of alcohol is 10ml of pure alcohol – and the number of units you are drinking depends on the drink’s size and strength.²

For example, a 50ml serving of 17% ABV Irish cream liqueur has 0.8 units in it.

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs’) low risk drinking guidelines recommend you drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.³

Regularly drinking more than the low risk drinking guidelines increases your risk of developing a range of health problems including heart and liver disease, and seven types of cancer.⁴ The risk of developing these types of cancer starts to increase even at low levels of drinking – so the less you drink, the more you reduce your risk.⁵

How many calories are in Irish cream liqueur?

Alcohol is high in calories. It contains around seven calories a gram, almost as many as one gram of fat.⁶

And the calories in an Irish cream liqueur don’t just come from the alcohol – it’s high in sugar too.⁷

A 50ml glass of Irish cream liqueur can contain around 160 calories⁸ – more than a packet of ready salted crisps.⁹

Calories from alcohol are often described as 'empty calories', meaning they have no nutritional value because they are consumed in addition to the calories your body needs.¹⁰ Drinking alcohol affects the way your body processes fat for energy too.¹¹

Alcohol makes you more likely to store fat around your middle which is an area where men in particular tend to show weight gain, sometimes referred to as a ‘beer belly'.^12,13,14

How to reduce the amount you’re drinking

Irish cream liqueur is a strong alcoholic drink, but its sweetened flavour can make it easy to underestimate how much alcohol you’re having. To stay on track, try these top tips:

Mind your measures at the bar

Irish cream liqueur is often automatically sold as a double (50ml) measure in pubs and restaurants (0.8 units). To reduce your units, you could ask for a single serving (0.4 units) and double up on ice.

Mind your measures at home

If you’re drinking at home, it can be harder to pour accurate measures. You could be over-pouring and drinking more units than you think. Try using an alcohol unit measuring cup to keep track of your units at home.

Have several drink-free days each week

If you drink regularly, your body starts to build up a tolerance to alcohol.¹⁵ This is one of the reasons the UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines recommend having several drink free days each week, as well as not drinking more than 14 units a week and no binge drinking.¹⁶

Track your drinking over time

If you choose to drink, recording exactly what you’ve drunk during the week will tell you whether you're keeping within the low risk drinking guidelines. Our free MyDrinkaware app is perfect for tracking your drinks when you’re out and about.

Download the free MyDrinkaware app to track your units and calories