Baileys Almande Has Been Discontinued in the UK, Here's What to Drink Now

You probably found this page one of two ways. Either you went looking for Baileys Almande in Tesco, Sainsbury's, or Waitrose, couldn't find it, and started Googling, or someone told you it was gone and you assumed they were wrong. They weren't.

Baileys Almande, the almond milk cream liqueur that became a quiet staple for dairy-free and vegan drinkers across the UK, has been discontinued in this market. It is no longer stocked in UK supermarkets. It is not coming back. And with over 1.5 million vegans in the UK (The Vegan Society) and a growing number of lactose-intolerant drinkers who relied on it, that leaves a real, frustrating gap.

The good news: that gap has been filled, and filled rather brilliantly, by something that does the job better on almost every count. This is what replaced Baileys Almande in the UK, and why the switch might be the best thing that happened to your drinks cabinet.

What Replaced Baileys Almande in the UK?

Before we get to the recommendation, it helps to understand what made Almande useful in the first place. It was sweet, creamy, pourable over ice, decent in coffee, and it carried the Baileys name, which gave nervous gift buyers confidence. For vegans and those avoiding dairy, it was the path of least resistance.

What it wasn't, if we're being honest, was exceptional. The almond milk base gave it a slightly thin mouthfeel. The flavour was pleasant but not distinctive. And it carried an allergen warning for tree nuts, which ruled it out for a significant chunk of the dairy-free community who avoid almonds. The certification situation was also murky, Baileys Almande was never independently verified as vegan by a recognised UK body.

So when Diageo pulled it from UK shelves, they left a gap that needed filling by something genuinely better, not just something wearing a similar label.

What is Cremaura and Why Are Vegan Drinkers Switching to It?

Cremaura is a UK-made, 100% plant-based tequila cream liqueur, launched in December 2023. It is certified by Vegan Friendly UK, independently verified, not self-declared, and produced in a BRC-certified distillery, which is the highest food safety standard operating in the UK.

The Coffee Caramel variant is the one that has built Cremaura's following. It's built around dark roasted coffee, smooth caramel, and a whisper of vanilla, with a plant cream base (coconut-derived) and a premium tequila foundation made from agave.

That last detail matters more than it might first appear, and we'll get to it shortly.

Since launch, Cremaura has won the Plant-Based Excellence Awards 2024 and the Vegan Choice Awards 2024. It's placed in Michelin guide restaurants and premium UK bar groups. Every single customer review it has received, 100% of them, is five stars. That's not a marketing line. That's just the record.

Why Tequila? What Replaced Baileys Almande Needed to Be Different

Most cream liqueurs use whiskey (Baileys Original), rum (various), or oat milk spirit bases. Cremaura chose tequila, made from agave, and that decision shapes everything about how it drinks.

Agave is naturally gluten-free. There is no grain involved, no oat processing risk, no cross-contamination concern that you get with oat-based cream liqueurs. For anyone who is coeliac or managing a gluten sensitivity, that's not a minor point, it's the difference between being able to drink it and not.

The tequila base also produces a cleaner, lighter flavour profile than whiskey or rum. It doesn't compete with the coffee and caramel notes the way a heavy spirit would. Instead it lifts them. The result is a cream liqueur that feels balanced rather than cloying, smooth, rounded, and genuinely drinkable rather than something you manage in small sips.

Cremaura Coffee Caramel contains zero allergens. No nuts (unlike Almande). No gluten. No soy. No dairy. No GMO. For a product in the allergen-free space, that's an unusually clean bill of health, and it means you can pour it for virtually any guest without needing to check first.

How Does Cremaura Compare to Baileys Almande?

Let's be direct about this, because you deserve a straight comparison rather than brand-speak.

1. Vegan certification: Cremaura is independently certified by Vegan Friendly UK. Baileys Almande was never independently certified in the UK.
2. Allergen profile: Cremaura contains zero allergens, no nuts, no gluten, no soy, no dairy. Baileys Almande contained almond (tree nut allergen), which excluded a significant portion of the dairy-free community.
3. Spirit base: Cremaura uses premium tequila from agave, inherently gluten-free, lighter in profile. Baileys Almande used a neutral spirit base with less character.
4. Flavour: Cremaura Coffee Caramel is genuinely complex, coffee, caramel, vanilla, plant cream. Baileys Almande was sweet and simple, which worked for some and felt thin for others.
5. Availability: Cremaura is available year-round, direct from cremaura.com, with UK-wide shipping. Baileys Almande was dependent on supermarket ranging cycles, which is partly why its disappearance from shelves was so disorienting for regular buyers.
6. Awards: Cremaura has two industry awards from 2024. Baileys Almande had the brand name.

For anyone who drank Almande primarily because it was there and it worked, Cremaura does the job better. For anyone who drank it specifically because it was vegan-certified, allergen-safe, or independently verified, Cremaura is the upgrade they should have had years ago.

What About Other Vegan Cream Liqueurs in the UK?

It's worth being clear about what else is out there, because you'll see names come up in searches and you should know what you're looking at.

• Baileys Oat Milk, announced for the US market in early 2025. Not confirmed for UK shelves as of 2026. If and when it arrives in the UK, it will carry an oat-based profile, which raises questions for coeliac and gluten-sensitive drinkers. There is currently no UK vegan Baileys product.
• Tequila Rose (original), not vegan. Contains dairy cream. Do not be misled by listings or reviews that suggest otherwise.
• Amarula Vegan, available in the UK. Pea milk base, rum spirit. Worth knowing about, though allergen clarity is less comprehensive than Cremaura and the flavour profile is markedly different.
• Barti Cream, oat milk base, which carries a gluten risk for coeliac drinkers. Whisky spirit. A regional Welsh product with a loyal following, but not allergen-free in the way Cremaura is.
• Bottega Pistachio Liqueur, not vegan. Contains milk derivatives. Sometimes appears in plant-based searches erroneously.

The honest picture is that Cremaura sits at the top of the UK vegan cream liqueur market right now, not by default, but because of what it actually delivers. You can read a more detailed breakdown in our roundup of the best vegan Baileys alternatives in the UK.

How to Drink Cremaura Coffee Caramel

One of the things former Almande drinkers notice quickly is how versatile Cremaura is. Here are the best ways in:

Over ice, the simplest, and the most revealing. Pour 50ml over a generous handful of ice in a tumbler. The cold opens up the coffee notes and mellows the caramel into something genuinely elegant. This is how to taste it properly for the first time.

In coffee, pour a measure into your morning flat white or an afternoon Americano. It works in the way a flavoured syrup never quite does, because it adds body and spirit alongside the flavour. Some customers use it as their coffee shop ritual at home.

Vegan espresso martini, 40ml Cremaura Coffee Caramel, 25ml vodka, 25ml freshly brewed espresso (cooled), shaken hard over ice, double-strained into a chilled coupe. Garnish with three coffee beans. The Cremaura does the work that Kahlúa and a dairy-laden cream would normally do separately. One component, cleaner result. For more ideas, see our vegan Baileys Irish cream recipe guide.

Over vegan vanilla ice cream, a 25ml pour over a scoop of good coconut or oat ice cream. Simple, genuinely delicious, works at any dinner party as a thirty-second dessert.

Is Cremaura a Good Gift? What Replaced Baileys Almande for Gift Buyers

Baileys Almande was a reliable gift for vegan friends and family, you knew what you were getting, the brand did the explaining for you. With Cremaura, the Original Glass bottle does that work. It's a premium glass format with genuine weight and presence on a shelf or under a tree, and the Coffee Caramel name does exactly what it promises.

For gift buyers, the allergen-free profile is arguably the most important detail. When you buy Cremaura Coffee Caramel as a gift, you're buying something that is safe for vegans, coeliac guests, lactose-intolerant friends, nut allergy sufferers, and anyone avoiding gluten or soy. You do not need to know the recipient's full dietary profile to buy it with confidence. That peace of mind is genuinely rare in the spirits category.

Cremaura also plants one tree for every online order through its Ecologi partnership, with a target of 3,000 trees and growing. For sustainability-conscious gift buyers, that's a real credential, not a greenwashing afterthought.

Klarna payment is available for online orders, and UK-wide shipping runs year-round direct from cremaura.com, no hunting supermarket shelves, no "out of stock until January."

The Bottom Line on What Replaced Baileys Almande

Baileys Almande was discontinued in the UK. That's done, and it isn't coming back. But the cream liqueur market didn't stand still while it was gone.

Cremaura Coffee Caramel is independently certified vegan, made in a BRC-accredited UK distillery, carries zero allergens, is built on a tequila base that's inherently gluten-free, and has picked up two industry awards in its first year. The flavour, dark roasted coffee, caramel, vanilla, plant cream, is more complex and more satisfying than what Almande offered.

If you drank Almande and you're looking for what to pour instead, this is the honest answer from someone who has watched the UK vegan drinks market develop for two decades: Cremaura Coffee Caramel is not a consolation prize. It's a significant step up.

Shop Cremaura now at cremaura.com, available year-round, delivered UK-wide.

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For more on the vegan cream liqueur landscape in the UK, read our full guide: Is Baileys Vegan? 2022 vs Now and Best Vegan Baileys Gluten Free.