Desserts, indulgence and nostalgia – are these the next big liqueur trends?
With a swathe of indulgent, dessert-forward liqueurs hitting shelves recently, we explore whether these flavours are a flash in the pan or key to the category’s longevity.
In recent years, liqueurs have renounced being reserved largely for the festive period. Innovative flavour developments and a focus on cocktail capabilities have seen the category flourish and find demand as a year-round tipple.
However, there’s no denying the role liqueurs continue to hold as Christmas and New Year celebrations draw closer. Whether it’s whipping out the Advocaat for Snowballs or adding a splash of Baileys to a hot chocolate, something about this time of year brings out the more indulgent side of the category.
And it starts early, too. In September, 100 days out from Christmas day, Diageo-owned Baileys announced its collaboration with Terry’s Chocolate Orange. The Irish cream liqueur was specifically created with shoppers looking for indulgent treats this Christmas in mind.
It was the latest in a long line of flavours from Baileys – and part of a growing trend across the liqueur category, not only for indulgence, but for dessert-led flavours.
Sarah Blake, global brand director of Baileys, notes: “At Baileys, we’ve seen growth in the demand for nostalgic and dessert-inspired flavours both within the liqueur category and beyond across the broader food, drink, and treating landscape. From the launch of bakery-inspired ice creams, the return of flavoured sodas from the 80s and retro snack revivals, brands are tapping into these comforting tastes.
“We’ve catered to this demand with limited edition releases such as Baileys Birthday Cake, S’mores, Tiramisu, Apple Pie, and most recently, our highly anticipated Baileys x Terry’s Chocolate Orange collaboration in Great Britain for Christmas 2025. Alongside Baileys Original Irish Cream, consumers are embracing new ways to indulge and discovering unique nostalgic tastes across the full Baileys range.”
The trend for indulgence and dessert-led flavours has also been recognised by Creamy Creation, a leading B2B liqueur developer and manufacturer, which was recently acquired by Stockmeier Group.
“Historically, there’s always been a crossover between the dessert and spirits space, especially the cream liqueur space,” says Simone Bouman chief commercial officer, EMEA/APAC, Creamy Creation. “While we’ve always seen a consistent interest in dessert-inspired cream liqueurs, we have recently seen an increase in the past few years of dessert-inspired product launches in the market, such as crème brûlée, s’mores, tiramisu, birthday cake, butter tart cream liqueur, etc.
“Dessert-inspired flavours have always been a popular request by customers and prospects, but 2025 definitely brought back a renewed interest in old-time classics, making creamy creations take centre stage again.”
Social media has made attributing the trend to specific markets or demographics more complex, Bouman believes. However: “Millennial and Gen Z consumers are driving this trend, which started in the food and beverage space; from trendy cookie stores that seemed to continuously pop up in NYC and around the globe, to onigiri croissants first seen in Singapore and to pistachio-filled pastries inspired by Dubai Chocolate, which have taken over the world. These are usually crossovers of old with new: classics that get reinvented with a traditional local flavour twist, and quickly spread around the globe with the help of social media.”
Nostalgia plays a key role on the trend. Childhood flavours of sweet treats and desserts are driving demand, along with classic cocktail flavour profiles.
For Godelief van Erve, global marketing director at De Kuyper Royal Distillers: “We see that consumers are drinking less but better; and in the moments they are drinking, they choose more often something special like a cocktail to treat and indulge themselves. Within cocktails, we do see some classics making comebacks. For instance, the Amaretto Sour (which first became hot in the 1970s and 1980s, and is now rising in popularity again). Other old classics making a comeback besides the Amaretto Sour: Naked & Famous, Singapore Sling, and Old Fashioned.”
Zamora Company is another producer that has capitalised on the indulgence, dessert-led trend. The firm’s Spanish liqueur, Licor 43, has released numerous flavours aligned with the movement in recent years: Licor 43 Chocolate in 2021, Licor 43 Crème Brûlée in 2023, and Licor 43 Caramel Cookie this year.
“Often, flavour trends can be quite market specific,” explains Blanca de la Infiesta, spirits global marketing director of Zamora Company. “For instance, Licor 43 Original is huge with coffee in Mexico and other LATAM markets, and with milk in Germany – but this indulgence trend is one that we’re seeing the world over. The latest flavour trend we identified and that inspired our latest launch is caramel cookie – a classic treat that is rapidly expanding across both categories and global markets.”
The data also suggests the trend is here to stay, as de la Infiesta notes, Licor 43’s latest data shows the cream liqueur category is growing. Further supporting this notion is Irish food agency Bord Bia, which reported a 5% rise in exports of Irish cream liqueurs in 2024, with exports worth €380 million (US$426.8m).
Zooming out to take a global perspective of the liqueurs category, and as reported in The Spirits Business’ World Spirits Report 2025, Euromonitor International data forecasts the sector will reach 135.6m nine-litre cases in 2026, up by 2.2% from the 132.7m it expects will have sold by the end of 2025. Value wise, Euromonitor expects a 7.5% increase from 2025 to 2026 from €57 billion to US$61.3bn.
So, is the trend for indulgent, dessert-led, and nostalgic liqueur flavours here to stay? For Creamy Creation, it’s an emphatic “yes”.
“We project pistachio and tiramisu will continue to remain popular,” adds Bouman. “We know that indulgent flavours such as s’mores, and anything that is cookie or cookie butter related, will be making a comeback in 2026.
“Comforting dessert flavours, such as banoffee pie and cobblers, are also back on the trend radar with their nostalgic, comforting flavours. From ‘swicy’ (sweet and spicy) that was popular in 2025 to now ‘swavory’ (sweet and savoury) – think salted caramel – this crossover will be here to stay and we expect to see it trickle down to the spirits space.”
Related news
Liqueurs: innovation and adaptability spearhead success
