Type Triple Sec | Producer Cointreau / Remy Cointreau | Region France > Angers | ABV 40% | Volume 700 ml | Price (AUD) ~$70
House notes
Cointreau is the triple sec that other triple secs wish they were. Made from sweet and bitter orange peels, distilled twice, bottled at a surprisingly robust 40 percent ABV. The orange is bright, clean, and distinctly three-dimensional, which is why no Margarita has ever been improved by substituting the cheap stuff. Neat it is syrupy and floral and not really for drinking. In a cocktail it lifts everything. In a Margarita it is the bottle that decides whether your drink is a proper cocktail or a fruit-flavoured tequila situation. This is the working bottle that earns its shelf space four different ways.
What it pairs with
Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Sidecar, White Lady, Corpse Reviver No. 2, Aviation (with maraschino), and a splash in a cheap Champagne to turn a casual drink into a French 75-adjacent situation. Food: orange-flavoured anything, crepes Suzette, a dark chocolate torte, or straight over vanilla ice cream if nobody is watching. A bottle that lasts months because you only use 30 ml at a time.
About the producer
Cointreau was created in Angers, France, in 1875 by Adolphe and Edouard Cointreau. The faceted square bottle has barely changed since the 1880s. It is the triple sec called for in approximately every classic cocktail book ever written.
Recipes and cocktails this pairs with
Every post on Food & Drinks that recommends this bottle.
