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Comment by Lio | Hacker News Reader

Always took a perverse pleasure in reminding my proud Irish relations that Baileys Irish Cream was invented by some "Brit" out of a lab in Essex, England in the 1970s.

They just loved that one. :P

I'd still pay the premium for Baileys. It's like buying off brand "Pringles"; you might save a small bit and the tin might look pretty similar but they taste is never taste quite right.

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> I, on the other hand, was most definitely an arriviste, having fled South Africa in 1961 aboard the Cape Town Castle to occupy a mattress on a floor in a shared room in Earl’s Court.

He was South African though ;)

I'd agree though, off brand baileys just doesn't taste the same. I think it was Aldi I bought a similar one from before, and It was fine, but it's kind of similar to Pepsi vs Coke. I like pepsi, but if I order Coke, and I get pepsi, I'm disappointed as I was expecting Coke, even though to me both taste similar and I like both.

Pepsi is noticeably sweeter, I prefer coke as it's got a bit more of a 'dry' taste to it.

I'm simular but the other way around.

Coke is bland and awful to me. I only drink Pepsi max, yet they are all fairly similar and cola's, Pepsi max is far better than anything else.

Haha, true but he's still one of "us", just like Sid James, Chris Froome, Gordon Murray ...or my Irish Mum. ;)

And Bob Holness, the first actor to play James Bond. But not, alas, the saxophonist on Baker Street.

My mum's Irish too, but can't stand Bailey's.

Second actor, preceded by Barry Nelson: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310853/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_14

I used to frequent an Indian restaurant which gave a free shot of ‘fake Baileys’ at the end of your meal. We actually came to prefer it to real Baileys - partly because it was a bit less thick and sweet, and probably partly from the positive association with a satisfying meal of very good Indian food.

I dunno, you say "save a small bit" but the off-brand Baileys here costs €5 while the real stuff is closer to €20 (it varies by shop and depends on promotions a lot)

Nearly off-topic aside: if you like Bailey's, try Dooley's. It's like a toffee/praline version of Bailey's, and pretty darned tasty (and I generally don't have much of a sweet tooth).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dooley%27s

In the fine tradition of Bailey's Irish name but British birth, Dooley's is German.

> It's like buying off brand "Pringles"

Does anyone make worse chips than Pringles?

Pringles are not chips. They are mathematically precise reifications of idealized perfection. It has nothing to do with potatoes and binders, those are only incidental. It's all about the libidinal act of destroying perfect objects with your mouth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_stage

Of course they are not chips, they are crisps.

I want to read the books you are reading.

To bring it full circle, the guy who invented the Pringles machine is a famous author (Gene Wolfe)

or writing...

Never thought of it this way, but that is obviously and irrefutably true.

In my case, given a fairly weak upper palate, it’s also a case of destroying your mouth with perfect objects.

Apparently off brand pringles are worse, if such a thing is even possible. But I'd argue pringles are not chips

> if such a thing is even possible

Exactly. The way Pringles taste; to go looking for "off brand" Pringles at lower prices seems totally nuts.

I'm not sure if they are crisps, chips or just a horrid potato mix formed into "perfect shapes"; but whatever they are, their popularity is a mystery to me.

Also popular are ready meals and squashed-sponge pre-sliced 'bread' that takes a year to mould.

If you want bread that molds readily, try getting some Francesi rolls. I've had those mold on the way home from the store.

(Some people might argue that that was just bread that was already moldy in the store. Perhaps, but Francesi rolls really will mold within a day or two of purchase.)

For 'normal' (well, to a Briton anyway) bread I just bake my own. It'd certainly mould before the miserable squashes-sponge stuff, but it's broken down by stomach acid before it has a chance. (I live alone and bake & eat one (440g flour's worth incl. starter) every ~5 days I reckon, slightly more than one a week anyway.)

> I've had those mold on the way home from the store.

They can sense you've bought them..

I guess these are all eaten by the same people, the Pringles people?

I quite like Baileys but find it a bit too light and sweet on it's own. It's great in a BMW (Baileys Malibu & Whiskey), or just with a splash of Southern Comfort.

The story has always been set in London’s vibrant Soho area, not Essex.

> We took it to the technical group in the Gilbeys building that housed their factory offices, distillery, research laboratories and warehouse in Harlow, Essex,

I think I always associated it with Harlow but I wouldn't let the truth get in the way when winding up my family relations. :D

The office where they came up with the idea and first mixed prototypes is in Soho, as in the story.

Coole Swan is nicer by far, if you ever get the chance to try it.

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