Cointreau
Also called triple sec, Cointreau triple sec, orange liqueur
The benchmark triple sec: a clear 40% ABV orange liqueur from Angers, France, distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels since 1875. Drier and stronger than most curaçaos, it supplies the orange and part of the sweetness in a Margarita, a Sidecar, a White Lady and a Cosmopolitan.
- sweet orange
- bitter orange peel
- clean spirit heat
- light sugar
- orange blossom
- dry finish
Origin
The Cointreau family, confectioners by trade, opened a distillery in Angers in 1849 and first revived guignolet, a cherry liqueur. Edouard Cointreau, back from the war of 1870, wanted an orange liqueur drier and stronger than the fashionable curaçaos; he finalized it in 1875 and named it Triple-Sec, a name for the triple concentration of orange and its relative dryness. Copycats pushed the family to put the Cointreau name on the label instead. It is made from alcohol, water, sugar and a blend of bitter (Citrus aurantium) and sweet (Citrus sinensis) orange peels, and rose with the White Lady (1919), the Sidecar (about 1922), the Margarita (1948) and the Cosmopolitan (1980).
Common uses
- margarita
- sidecar
- singapore-sling
- White Lady
- Cosmopolitan
- Corpse Reviver No. 2
Pours that use it
- Classic
Margarita
Tequila, lime and orange liqueur, with salt on half the rim
The classic tequila sour: blanco tequila, fresh lime juice and Cointreau with a touch of agave, shaken and served with salt on half the rim.
TequilaShakenEasy - Classic
Sidecar
Cognac, orange and lemon: the brandy sour in evening dress
A shaken cognac sour from the early 1920s: cognac, Cointreau and fresh lemon juice, served up in a coupe with an optional sugar rim.
CognacShakenEasy - International
Singapore Sling
The rose-colored long drink of the Long Bar
A tall, fruit-forward gin sling from Singapore's Raffles Hotel: gin, cherry liqueur, Benedictine, orange liqueur, pineapple, lime, grenadine and bitters, shaken and served over ice.
GinShakenIntermediate
Sources
- Cointreau brand history (The Spirits Business), The Spirits Business · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Cointreau (product page and FAQ), Rémy Cointreau · primary source, retrieved 2026-10-11