Cointreau Liqueur 750ml

Cointreau began in 1849 when brothers Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau opened a distillery in Angers, France, building on Adolphe's background as a confectioner and initially producing local fruit liqueurs such as Guignolet cherry liqueur. It was Edouard-Jean's son, also named Edouard, who reworked the family's approach to orange liqueur, and by 1885 he had perfected a clear, concentrated recipe unlike anything else on the market. The company has stayed in family hands for generations and today operates as part of Remy Cointreau, still producing at its original site in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou near Angers.

The liqueur is made by macerating a proprietary blend of sweet and bitter orange peels, sourced from growing regions around the world, in neutral alcohol derived from sugar beets. The infusion is then distilled to draw out dozens of aromatic compounds, a process that yields a liqueur far more concentrated in orange flavor than the curaçaos and fruit liqueurs common at the time. Edouard also designed the brand's distinctive square bottle, registering both the name and the packaging with the Angers Commercial Court in 1885 to distinguish it from the wave of imitators that followed.

Cointreau pours crystal clear and offers a bright burst of orange peel and mandarin zest on the nose. The palate carries that same concentrated citrus character, balancing sweetness against a light bitter edge from the peel, with a clean, warming finish that has made it a foundation of classic cocktails for well over a century.