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Discover 18 Cointreau cocktails that you’ll love sipping at home. Although Cointreau may be a supporting ingredient in these drinks, France’s iconic liqueur makes them all taste better.
We consider Cointreau to be the MVLB (most valuable liquor bottle) in our home bar. It’s a bottle we pull out frequently, both for cocktails that traditionally call for Cointreau as well as for others that don’t.
Crafting Margaritas with Cointreau is nothing new. The popular tequila cocktail is a Cointreau gateway for many amateur mixologist, including us a few years ago. However, once we added the orange liqueur to our French 75 recipe, we realized that Cointreau could be an integral part of many mixed libations.
Cointreau is a clear liqueur produced with orange peels (both bitter and sweet) and alcohol distilled from sugar beets. Cointreau’s producers don’t age the Triple-Sec liqueur. Instead, they pour it straight into square brown bottles, which later get shipped to all parts of the world.
No fleeting trend, Cointreau’s history dates back to 1875 when brothers Adolphe and Édouard-Jean Cointreau concocted the Cointreau recipe in Western France’s Saint-Barthélemy-d’Anjou. Their descendants later joined forces with Rémy to create the liquor juggernaut called Rémy-Cointreau.
Cointreau vs. Grand Marnier Some people consider Cointreau to be interchangeable with Grand Marnier. However, they are wrong. While both French orange liqueurs are clear in color and have similar 40% ABVs, they’re not the same. Cointreau is an unaged Triple-Sec. Grand Marnier, which adds cognac and sugar to its recipe, is a barrel-aged Curaçao.
While it’s entirely acceptable to sip Cointreau as an apéritif (before dinner) or digestif (after dinner) drink, preferably with chocolate and near a fireplace, our favorite way to drink the orange liqueur is in cocktails.
There’s just something about Cointreau that makes so many cocktails taste just a little bit better.
Sure, you could craft the aforementioned Margarita without Cointreau, but then you’d be drinking Ranch Water instead. And, once you add Cointreau to a French 75, you’ll never craft the sophisticated Champagne sipper any other way.
You’ll surely join the Cointreau fan club once you craft our Orange Creamsicle recipe. That’s the cocktail that started our Cointreau obsession. It’s that good. But it’s not the only Cointreau drink that we love.
The classic Margarita is one of the most popular cocktails in the world. It's also one of the easiest cocktails to craft at home with just three ingredients and no special bar tools.
Leave your impressions behind when you craft a Cosmopolitan cocktail at home. Despite its pretty pink hue, the Cosmo is a serious vodka cocktail that's easy to craft and even easier to sip.
This Orange Creamsicle Cocktail is as easy to craft as it is to drink. But make no mistake – this decadent creamsicle drink is a boozy, grown-up version of the summertime ice cream treat.
We're always mad for margaritas, but we especially love the Mexican summer sipper with a touch of heat. Follow this easy Spicy Margarita recipe and catch your own case of margarita madness.
Leave your jaded impressions of Long Island Iced Tea behind. Not only is the potent potable popular with 20-somethings looking for a quick buzz, but it also tastes great if you're in your 30s or beyond.
Named after itss main ingredient and its crunchy, sugary rim, the Brandy Crusta is a timeless New Orleans cocktail. It's also sweet, sour and sophisticated.
The Between the Sheets Cocktail is a sophisticated sipper that you can order at a fancy bar or craft at home with just a handful of ingredients. Follow this easy recipe if you prefer the latter option.
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 tastes like a dream despite its nightmare-inducing name. Learn the history behind this ghoulishly delightful gin cocktail and then craft one at home in just five minutes.
The Lemon Drop Martini is a classy citrus sipper that's served with a frosty, sugar-studded rim. It's also super easy to craft at home and tastes like liquid candy.
This boozy Bourbon Eggnog recipe is both decadently delicious and ridiculously easy to make for just two people. In other words, the boozy Eggnog is an ideal cocktail if you want to celebrate the holiday season at home with somebody special.
Proving that you shouldn't judge a cocktail by its name, the White Lady Cocktail is a classic drink that's appropriate for multicultural cocktail connoisseurs.
The Café Maria Theresia is a boozy coffee cocktail that's popular in classic Vienna coffee houses. Follow this easy recipe and craft the decadent cocktail at home wherever you live.
The classic Blood and Sand cocktail is neither bloody nor sandy. Instead, the sophisticated scotch cocktail is smooth and sweet. It's also super easy to craft at home.
The Singapore Sling is a fruity and fun cocktail that's sweet, herbaceous and tart. It's also easy to make at home despite its long laundry list of ingredients.
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Funding We purchased the ingredients and tools used to craft these cocktails.
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Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on their website 2foodtrippers. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.
