Pros: Full bitter-and-sweet, juice-and-peel orange flavor, with no bite.
Cons: Much more expensive than common triple sec. Better for mixing than for consuming by itself.
The Bottom Line: Cointreau has an extremely well-rounded, strong, and clear orange flavor and is an excellent choice of orange liqueur for making sidecars, margaritas, and other cocktails that call for triple sec.
bkalafut's Full Review: Cointreau Liqueur 80@ 750ml
If you've ever experimented with making liqueurs at home, you've probably figured out that the method of manufacture of some of the commercial products is more complicated than just macerating flavorings in grain alcohol or brandy, filtering, and adding sugar. That isn't to say that there are not liqueurs out there like that; Italian country liqueurs like limoncello and nocino are still largely homemade by maceration, and the few commercial examples reflect that. Rather, quite a few are not.
Just what part of what orange or oranges could one steep in sugar beet alcohol to produce a liqueur with the lush, full peel-and-flesh, bitter and sweet taste of Cointreau? Homemade and commercial "orangecello" liqueurs lack the juiciness and have a pronounced bite (just like chewing on orange zest), and most "triple sec" liqueur lacks the full orange-oil flavor and the dash of bitterness that rounds out Cointreau. Whatever the process is--and the Cointreau family is known to forbid photography in their plant in order to keep it secret--it must be nontrivially different than orangecello liqueurs and most triple secs. Steam distillation is probably involved, and perhaps chromatography techniques, but as these are all available to even store-brand triple sec makers, it can't just be use of steam distillation or modern chromatography that makes the difference.
Not having tasted every orange liqueur on the market--now that there are big-box liquor stores in town, I see that there are considerably more than I thought there were, and the number is growing--I can't say definitively that Cointreau is the best on the market. What I can say is that its reputation as a top-shelf, extraordinary orange liqueur is deserved.
It's alright on the rocks--the bitterness and orange-oil flavors mean that unlike most triple sec, it's drinkable on its own--but really shines when mixing. It may be heresy to say so, but the strength and clarity of the orange flavor here make using the more expensive Grand Marnier--more suitable for drinking neat but muddled by comparision--in a sidecar or margarita seem like an ostentatious waste.
Switching to Cointreau from well or store-brand triple sec in a sidecar makes a bigger difference than substituting call brandy for well brandy or store-brand brandy. Moreover, since it isn't a base spirit, some bartenders and waitresses won't charge any more for a Cointreau sidecar than for a well sidecar. And if you're going to keep one orange liqueur at home for mixing, this is probably the best choice.
Sidecar
One of the classic cocktails, said to be the ancestor to the these-days more common margarita. A simple mnemonic sums up the recipe: "One part sour, one part sweet, two parts strong." Presidente brandy works as well as Hennessy here; more important is the choice of orange liqueur.
Ingredients:
1 oz Cointreau or other high-quality orange liqueur 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 oz brandy.
Directions: Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. One sometimes sees the rim of the glass lined wth sugar, but this drink is better without it.
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Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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