Cointreau

Cointreau was founded in 1849 by Adolphe Cointreau in Angers, France, with his brother Édouard-Jean joining a few years later. A later generation of the family, also named Édouard, perfected the now-famous recipe in 1885, aiming for something clearer and less sweet than the syrupy orange liqueurs of the day. That formula, blending dried and fresh sweet and bitter orange peels distilled separately then combined, is still the basis of the bottle sold today.

Cointreau is triple distilled and left crystal clear, with no added colour, which is why it works as well in a Margarita or Cosmopolitan as it does over ice on its own. The family sold the business to what is now Rémy Cointreau in the late 1980s, though production has stayed in Angers. For cocktail night, our liqueur range covers plenty of other bar essentials.