Bartending/Alcohol/Orange liqueur
Triple sec, the most common type of orange liqueur, gets its name from the distillation process. Sec means dry. Triple sec means triple dry, or triple distilled. It's a useful orange-flavored liqueur.
Inexpensive triple secs tend to be much sweeter and with a less assertive orange flavour than Cointreau and other high-end triple secs. Therefore they will balance cocktails differently, often making them too sweet or not as orange-flavoured as would be expected. Different triple secs will require different proportions, and with some of the cheapest, which are low-proof grain alcohol and artificial flavorings, no proportion will be quite right. Be sure to taste your ingredients and invest in those which will create a more balanced drink. Also, those with a brandy base rather than a neutral base will be slightly sweeter and of a different character, and cannot always be directly substituted.
Cointreau
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Liqueur_cointreau.jpg/46px-Liqueur_cointreau.jpg)
- 40% ABV (80º proof)
- Origin: France
- Flavor: Sweet and bitter orange peel.
- Appearance: Pale orange, almost colorless
Curaçao
[edit | edit source]Blue Curaçao
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/en/thumb/e/eb/Senior_Cura%C3%A7ao_blue_sams2.jpg/44px-Senior_Cura%C3%A7ao_blue_sams2.jpg)
- 31% ABV (62º proof)
- Origin: Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
- Flavor: Laraha orange peel
- Appearance: Azure blue
Dry Orange Curaçao
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/en/thumb/7/70/Senior-curacao-629.jpg/50px-Senior-curacao-629.jpg)
- 31% ABV (62º proof)
- Origin: Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
- Flavor: Laraha orange
- Appearance: Pale orange
Grand Marnier
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/en/thumb/4/46/Grand_Marnier_sams.jpg/50px-Grand_Marnier_sams.jpg)
- 40% ABV (80º proof)
- Origin: France
- Flavor: Cognac, orange distillate.
- Appearance: Brandywine