Cointreau

Rating: 17/23 N: There's a sweet orange scent, like candy, and also some ethanol. It's a very pure ethanol flavor though, without any overbearing heads or tails. It's kind of zippy and uncomplex. This nose is lighter than that of either Grand Marnier or Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao. P: There are three flavors here: sweet, orange, and vodka. The sweetness and orange produce a pure, candy-like flavor that is tasty despite being one-note. There is a little bit of oiliness from the orange, but I wouldn't say there's much. The alcohol is unpleasant if drinking Cointreau neat, but it vanishes in a mixed drink, just making it seem a bit stronger. Additionally, in the alcohol's defense, it pretty much just tastes like pure ethanol. It's clear that a decently high quality vodka was used to produce this, so the alcohol interfere's minimally. It's only so noticeable because there is so little else going on and the palate is otherwise light. F: This is not as nice as the palate. Some of the grain starts coming out briefly, but then it brings in some harshness and eventually a faint hint of artificial sweetener. Of what I consider to be the "Big Three" orange liqueurs (Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao), this is both the simplest and the most pure in it candy orange sweetness. This bodes well for its capability as a mixer since its flavor can definitely shine through. Usually, though, such one-note mixers cost a lot less. Also, having done several comparisons with margaritas, mai tais, and variations on them (e.g. margarita but with high rye whiskey), I've found that this only beats Pierre Ferrand about half of the time. For sipping neat, Pierre Ferrand shows more complexity with bitter and oil notes, along with a hint of cognac, but it suffers from the clear presence of young brandy that borders on vodka. On the other hand, Cointreau pretends to be nothing other than vodka with orange and sugar, so maybe that works to its benefit? I think I would probably prefer Pierre Ferrand neat, but I bet that mixing it in with some cognac would do it a world of good. I guess I should try that... Grand Marnier is a different beast. It more prominently shows off its cognac, but its orange suffers as a result, developing more of a citrus bite. I'd say that Grand Marnier and Cointreau are on opposite sides of the spectrum with Pierre Ferrand in the middle and off to the side slightly. If I were picking two for my home bar, I would either take Cointreau and Grand Marnier because they are the most different or Pierre Ferrand and Grand Marnier because Pierre Ferrand works as a substitute for Cointreau in most situations. All of this considered, I think that Cointreau is my least favorite, but I can understand why some would prefer it the most and I can definitely understand why Grand Marnier often comes out on the bottom. I'm in the 16 to 18 range on this and it's pretty tough to make the call. At the end of the day, I have to conclude that while this is really more of a 13 to 16 for sipping (I'm leaning toward 15, just below Pierre Ferrand), it's great in cocktails, often functioning better than either Grand Marnier or Pierre Ferrand due to it's starker flavor profile. I hate to say this, but they are all very versatile in cocktails and provide a tremendous increase in quality to many of them. For mixing, there is no clear winner in my mind, so they're all going to get a score of 18. I will personally probably be sticking to Pierre Ferrand with an occasional Grand Marnier supplement going forward though, if for no other reason than price. But last second plot twist! Roll in the post-credits scene here. I was disappointed by the outcome of my head-to-head-to-head, so I took one more stab at it and came out with a compelling result! Now, all of them are still very good and I found that each pretty consistently enhanced the cocktail I mixed it in. That said, I do think I've identified a winner and a loser this time. So I tried cocktails based on gin and tequila, with an emphasis on margaritas because, obviously. I didn't have the proper ingredients to make anything rum-based, so I skipped it and that might influence future ratings. I found this time that Cointreau decidedly trailed the other two. It added some more orange presence for sure, but it was just so simple. I did make stronger cocktails this time around, but it wasn't exactly a thimbleful of lime juice dumped into a vat of tequila. This time, Cointreau was consistently second or third and Pierre Ferrand was consistently first or second. There was one exception in which Cointreau was close to Pierre Ferrand for first (in a margarita with an anejo tequila, in case that matters), but that was the best that it did. Grand Marnier continued to be the most volatile, so it is definitely the riskiest choice when mixing a drink (though if anything I suspect it would be less risky in a rum-based cocktail). It tasted pretty good consistently though and Cointreau never quite achieved the complexity and balance of Pierre Ferrand. Considering this experience, I would have to say that Pierre Ferrand and Grand Marnier rival each other based on context and personal preference (do you want that pure tequila flavor to show through?), but Pierre Ferrand is a much safer option. It is still the easiest one to drown in a weak cocktail, but I frankly don't want to drink something watered down with margarita mix anyway. Considering all of this, I think that Pierre Ferrand wins for quality and consistency. It would be my first choice, Grand Marnier my second, and Cointreau my third. They are all still pretty close though. I'm going 19, 18, and 17, respectively.

A poor quality triple sec can ruin your margarita or mixed drink of choice. Cointreau is definitely a keeper. Certainly sweet, but has a bitter orange peel quality to the flavor too that gives a more rounded and balanced citrus note to your drink.