Cointreau

I've had a lot of this over the years, almost always in a cocktail. In fact, I don't ever recall seriously drinking this neat or on the rocks. Maybe I tasted it, but it was always an ingredient for me and never a main course. Today we'll turn that around. Originally called Curaçao Blanco Triple Sec, Cointreau is an orange-flavoured triple sec liqueur produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, France. It's a digestif, often enjoyed after a meal. Cointreau is made from blended sweet and bitter orange peels and alcohol from sugar beets. Introduced in 1875, about 13 million bottles of this liqueur sell each year. Cointreau is clear. I tasted neat from a glencairn. My bottle is almost empty, so this is as oxidized as it will get. It's clear and a bit thin with small tears quickly running down the glass after a swirl. Cointreau has a very delicate, but sharp, orange aroma. It smells to me like a blood orange before it's cut open - just smelling it up close to the rind. There's more than a trace of that beet alcohol, too. It's not a complex nose, but its nice enough. On the tongue this is very sweet, slightly citrus, blood-orange flavored and mildly warming. It's refined, simple and tasty. In short, this is a superb ingredient. I use it whenever I want orange in a cocktail and I use this as my triple sec. I should note that I'm not a fan of regular Grand Marnier (althought I'll argue that Grand Marnier Cuvee Speciale Cent Cinquantenaire 150 is a comletely different animal and I love it), so Cointrea remains a strong player in my liquor cabinet. Love it in cocktails, not my jam on its own, definitely a quality product. Recommended!