Cointreau , the proprietary curaçao that is one of the world’s iconic liqueur brands, traces its origins back to 1849, when Edouard-Jean and Adolphe Cointreau expanded their three-century-old family business from cakes and confectionary to liqueurs, beginning with a wild-cherry-based “Guignolet” that became their first commercial success. The Cointreaus went on to produce over fifty different liqueurs in the years ahead, many from fruit grown near their production facilities in Angers, France.
In 1875, Edouard, the son of Edouard-Jean, created his version of the then-fashionable orange “triple sec,” a less-sugary version of the “triple” orange liqueurs (where the flavoring is obtained in three separate extractions, rather than the single extraction used in the common brandy-based orange curaçaos) that had been made by French distillers since the 1830s. With both critical acclaim and brand visibility from the family’s pioneering marketing efforts, “Cointreau” grew to so dominate the category that its name became synonymous with “triple sec,” although the company could not trademark the term. It eventually dropped “triple sec” from its labels in the 1960s.
Edouard’s award-winning formula, which is still followed today by master distiller Bernadette Langlais, is produced by macerating fresh sweet orange peel for several months before combining it with dried sweet and bitter orange peels in neutral beet spirit and water, which infuse overnight before distillation. The distillate is blended with sugar, water, and more neutral spirit to yield an aromatic, clear liqueur bottled at 40 percent ABV.
Today, sixth-generation owner Alfred Cointreau carries on his family legacy with new liqueurs such as Cointreau Noir, which includes brandy in its blend, and historic offerings including Chamomile and Guignolet marketed as the Collection D’Edouard. Their triple sec is called for in hundreds of cocktails, such as the White Lady, Sidecar, Margarita, and Cosmopolitan and remains the most premium offering on the market. See Cosmopolitan; Margarita; Sidecar; and White Lady.
See also curaçao and triple sec.
“Curaçao Saintoin Triple Sec” (advertisement). Le Constitutionnel (Paris), February 12, 1867, 4.
Rondeau, Matthieu. Cointreau, l’unique. Paris: Éditions Ipanema, 2013.
By: Jim Meehan