Source
r/cocktails•
bareju

Recommended orange liqueur for home bar

Hi all!

I’m just starting to get into cocktails and am slowly expanding my home bar.

In the past I have just used inexpensive triple sec whenever orange liqueur is called for in a recipe.

I am looking into getting a new bottle and am a bit overwhelmed by the number of options. Some of the ones I am considering are...

Grand Marnier

Dry Curaçao

Combier

Gran Gala

Cointreau

What is your recommendation for the best bang for the buck and will give me good versatility across multiple types of popular cocktails and spirits?

Edit:

Thank you everyone for the recommendations! Grabbed some Cointreau, will try the PF Dry Curacao next :)

Posted Mar 25, 2020, 2:17 PM UTC · edited

320
BattletoadRash•

Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao. Sits between Cointreau (bright) and Grand Marnier (rich) in flavor. Very versatile.

9
Yeatssean•

This is certainly the best and while it's not exactly cheap (about mid range) it's one of the better additions to any bar when you learn how to use it.

3
xDictate•

I keep cointreau and Pierre Ferrand dry Curacao on hand. I'm low on Grand Marnier but I'll usually keep a small bottle of that too.

If I were to choose one bottle it'd be Cointreau.

5
Dadsmagiccasserole•

As far as orange liqueurs go, it tends to be a spectrum between the Triple Sec style (Drier, less sweet) and the Curaçao style (sweeter) and is therefore down to personal preference and what the drink calls for. My go to bottle is Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao because I like the taste of it, and it's easy enough to scale back sweetness in other parts of a cocktail.

3
chadparkhillfernet•

Grand Marnier and Cointreau are the benchmarks of two different styles of orange liqueur (rich vs. bright). Pierre Ferrand’s dry curaçao is a great product but be aware that it splits the difference between the two styles so it isn’t going to work in all applications. It also has less sugar than either Grand Marnier or Cointreau, so you might need to supplement it with some simple if you’re using it in a recipe that calls for either of the other two brands.

2
LaSalle2020•

Gran gala is the best for the price. I recommend getting a half bottle of Contrieau to try because it is really a standard so it’s good to try and a half bottle isn’t a huge commitment (you only lose a few bucks). GM also does half bottles

2
barejuOP•

Thanks! 375 mL of Cointreau or Grand Marnier runs around $25 which is 50% more expensive than TotalWines inventory. Most of our other stuff is pretty comparable, wondering why our orange liqueurs are so much more competitively.

1
CorrectCocktails•

There are actualy really few recipes that calls for GM specifically. If you are looking for a brandy based orange liqueur, I'd recommend something lipe Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao (which is absolutely not the same as Curacao in old cocktail books btw)

1
CityBarman•

I'd recommend something lipe Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao (which is absolutely not the same as Curacao in old cocktail books btw)

What exactly is meant by "Curacao" in the old cocktail books?

1
CorrectCocktails•

It's really well discribed in this and this articles.

To be short, the Curacao that was used for example in Mai Tai long ago was a distilled neutral (well, the most neutral those times could offer) spirit with curacao oranges. More sweet and bitter than modern Curacao Tripple Secs which is made with both bitter and sweet oranges.

Despite popular opinion today, there are really no sources that say Curacao is brandy based or even blended with brandy.

1
TheManWhoWasNotShort:rum:•

Cointreau feels most versatile to me. My home bar only has so much room so I use Cointreau

2
Viscouse•

Don't forget Solerno, my personal favorite. It's bright, and reminds me of Luxardo cherry.

It would be interesting to map out the different oranges on a 2 or 3 axis scale. What do you think are the defining traits? From Dry to Sweet? Or Bright to Rich?

1
CityBarman•

My two favorite "bang for the buck" orange liqueurs are Luxardo's Triplum (triple sec) and PF Dry Curacao. As much as I love the latter and use it as often as I can, the former is more appropriate for a much larger amount of cocktails. I generally pair a triple sec with unaged spirits and curacao with aged spirits. Of course, there are always exceptions.

1