An Apology to Cointreau

Dear Cointreau,

I'm sorry. For the better part of a year, I've been trying to convince myself that you are nothing special (see, for instance, the now redacted statement here). I've told myself that you are nothing more than fancy, over-priced triple sec and that you were not worth my time or my discretionary spending money. I was wrong. For this, I owe you an apology. I hereby vow never to make another Sidecar without you again (unless its for a rude house guest - in which case they're getting a Sidecar with lemon juice from a little lemon bulb, non-VSOP brandy from a plastic bottle, and the worst triple sec I can find).I hope you accept my apology and that we can be better friends moving forward.

Sincerely,

Robby

Well, I finally did it - I found Cointreau on sale and ponied up the $35 for a bottle of what I thought was glorified Triple Sec (which discerning consumers can find for under $10 a bottle...). But enough people had tried to sell me on the merits of Cointreau that I figured I should at least give it a try. Turns out they were spot-on. While its true that you can find decent Triple Sec on the market, Cointreau markets themselves as the Triple Sec, the one that sets the industry standard. And boy, does it ever. Zack and I treated ourselves to some fine Cointreau Sidecars right away, and the difference was extremely noticeable. There were lovely hints of clove, nutmeg, cinnamon along with the bittersweet orange flavor that enhanced the Brandy/lemon juice pairing quite well. The Sidecar has become one of my top five favorite drinks over the past year, and the addition of Cointreau makes it even better. As stated above, I hereby resolve never to make another Sidecar without Cointreau.

One note: Unlike Grand Marnier, Cointreau is not super-duper for sipping by itself. Grand Mariner comes from the curacao family (rather than the triple sec family) and so is a brandy based liqueur. For that reason, it overwhelms a lot of cocktails and makes them too boozy. But Grand Mariner is a fantastic aperitif - it stands alone quite well. Cointreau should not be sipped by itself, but man does it go great in any drink calling for Triple Sec. It is worth the investment, especially if you can find it on sale (if you see it in the $30 dollar range for a 750 ml bottle, that is a great price).