So many favorite cocktails wouldn’t be the same without orange liqueur, from margaritas and mai tais to sidecars and Cosmopolitans.
Orange liqueur “adds balance and depth” to drinks, says Derrick Clune, general manager of La Paloma Café in Santa Barbara, California. But these liqueurs are certainly not all the same. Some are vibrant and intense, others richer or sweeter. But at the end of the day, a good orange liqueur “enhances rather than overwhelms a drink,” says Clune.
Here’s everything to know about this expansive category of liquors, plus which bottles to invest in.
What Is Orange Liqueur?
A liqueur is a spirit that has been flavored and sweetened. When it comes to orange liqueur, orange is the dominant flavoring. That said, many orange liqueurs also contain other flavorings, such as spices, almond or other types of fruit.
The base spirit can vary widely, from agave spirits to rum, as well as neutral grain spirits. However, thanks to the longstanding dominance of French liqueur makers like Cointreau and Grand Marnier, French brandy—especially Cognac—often forms the base of orange liqueurs.
What Are the Types of Orange Liqueur?
The best-known styles are curaçao and triple sec. But these are far from the only two styles.
Curaçao
Curaçao originated as a liqueur flavored with the dried peels of the laraha orange, a particularly bitter offshoot of the Seville orange grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Artificially-colored blue curaçao was introduced by Holland’s Bols company in 1912. Today, it’s a staple in tropical cocktails and many blue-hued drinks.
The French are generally credited with perfecting curaçao, often distilling orange peels with spices in unaged brandy or a neutral spirit. According to The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, in 1891, Paris distiller Louis-Alexandre Marnier created a version that used aged Cognac, yielding the Grand Marnier brand. Since then, curaçao “has become an umbrella term for orange liqueur in general,” writes editor David Wondrich.
Triple Sec
Triple sec is a French innovation created in the 1850s, and started as a higher-proof, more concentrated blend of three separate distillations of different kinds of orange peels in a neutral spirit (as compared to curaçao, typically made with a single extraction). “It is sec, ‘dry,’ not because there is less sugar in it, but because there is more bitter-orange flavor and more alcohol,” explains Wondrich.
Other Orange Liqueur Types
While triple sec and curaçao might be some of the best known, they are far from the only options in the orange liqueur universe. For instance, there’s Holland’s purple floral Parfait Amour, made in the style of crème liqueurs. There’s also Creole Shrubb, a Caribbean staple typically made with rhum agricole macerated with orange peel and spices. Some might also classify bittersweet liqueurs like France’s Amer Picon or the Italian aperitivo Aperol as orange liqueurs.
“What we’re talking about is regions that produce fruit liqueurs or make liquor and use orange skin in a neutral or not-so-neutral distillate,” says Leviticus Brown, lead bartender at Roger Room in Los Angeles. “99 Orange is schnapps, so [it’s] German, but made in Kentucky. Arancello is Italian, Agavero is Mexican, and technically pruno (prison wine) could be considered an orange liqueur,” he notes. “Anywhere you can grow oranges to either distill the juice or add the skins to distillate, you can you find some kind of orange booze to drink.”
Best for Beginners
If you’re building a bar from scratch, or just learning how to mix drinks, this orange liqueur works with a myriad of cocktails and won’t break the bank.
Cointreau
This familiar workhorse liqueur is clear in the glass and offers a juicy orange flesh aroma. The sweet palate has a familiar orange flavor and finishes cleanly, with just a hint of warm spice. 92 Points —Kara Newman
$29 Total Wine & MoreBest for Tropical Drinks
This product works for any cocktail that calls for complexity, including those of a tropical nature. This is a bartender favorite for a reason; it lets other ingredients shine.
Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
Less sweet and more sprightly than most orange liqueurs, the aroma explodes with orange peel and marmalade. The palate echoes those notes, finishing brisk and slightly bitter, tinged with ginger sparks. 95 Points —K.N.
$28 Total Wine & MoreBest for Margaritas
Because this liqueur’s base spirit is tequila, it blends harmoniously in margaritas and other drinks made with agave.
Patrón Citronge
Look for a pale straw tinge and a bold agave scent from the moment this orange liqueur is poured, backed by candied citrus peel. The palate opens juicy and honey-sweet, braced up with agave bite and a citric note in the finish that suggests lemon. While this orange liqueur seems custom-made for sweetening margaritas and other Tequila-based drinks, the assertive agave note might be less harmonious in drinks made with other spirits. 91 Points —K.N.
$28 Total Wine & MoreMost Versatile
This familiar favorite melds a burst of orange peel with honey, cinnamon and ginger, making it ideal for a wide range of drinks. If you’re drinking it straight, try the pricier Grand Marnier Cuvée Louis-Alexandre.
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
Grand Marnier—or “GrandMa,” as some cocktail geeks gleefully shorthand it—remains one of the classics. Although it’s Cognac-based, it’s a versatile match for other spirits, too. The liqueur is extremely aromatic, with lots of sweet and bitter orange notes exploding out of the glass. Look for a warm, honeyed flavor and a nice burst of orange peel and spicy cinnamon and ginger on the long finish. 93 Points —K.N.
$33 Total Wine & MoreBest for Dessert Pairing
All that vanilla and candied orange peel makes this full-flavored liqueur a natural to serve alongside—or instead of—dessert.
Bauchant Orange Liqueur
Consider this full-flavored, relatively sweet liqueur for the dessert table. The golden liquid with orange highlights is scented with a mix of vanilla and candied orange peel. The viscous palate shows lots of vanilla and maple, exiting with orange peel and cinnamon heat. 92 Points —K.N.
$29 Total Wine & MoreBest Budget Option
It depends where you live and shop, but it’s possible to scoop up this maple-and-orange-flavored liqueur for around $20. In case you can’t find it, a close runner-up is De Kuyper Triple Sec, which is less pricey but not as tasty, in our opinion.
GranGala Triple Orange Liqueur
Look for a topaz hue with orange highlights and candied fruit and maple aroma. The palate is viscous and deeply sweet, and surprises with a red fruit note. A hint of bitterness also plays around the edges. Made with Italian VSOP brandy. Recommended for mixing. 89 Points —K.N.
$17 Total Wine & MoreBest for Spice Lovers
Bold baking spice and black pepper punch up this orange liqueur made with a base of Martinique rum. It’s ideal for adding bold flavor to punches or tropical drinks.
Clément Créole Shrubb
Though this golden spirit is made with Martinique rum and infused with Créole spices, Clément identifies it as an orange liqueur. Granted, it’s sweeter than the average spiced rum, thanks to the addition of pure sugar-cane syrup. But with its perfumy orange-blossom scent, light but lingering juicy orange flavor and faint cinnamon and clove glow on the finish, it works on the sweeter side of the spiced-rum spectrum too. 91 Points —K.N.
$39 Total Wine & MoreFAQ
What Does Orange Liqueur Taste Like?
“Ultimately, like an orange,” says Brown. The best versions put citrus front and center in terms of aroma and flavor, and it shouldn’t be too sweet, tangy or bitter.
New York City-based spirits educator Phil Duff, who previously developed spirits including orange liqueur for Dutch brand Bols, dives deeper: “You should get really fresh, zesty orange,” he says. “Ironically, you’re going to get the best of that from dried orange peel. It’s hard to get the best out of fresh ones, though some have.” Ideally, he continues, an orange liqueur should have “pure, sweet, fresh [and] almost astringent orange notes on the nose and then a pleasant, rounded palate, with enough sugar to give it body, but not enough to be cloying.”
Beyond the central orange flavor and balanced sweetness, the overall flavor profile of orange liqueurs can vary, depending on the base liqueur, the amount and type of sweetener and additional flavorings. The orange flavor itself can fluctuate depending on what is used: bitter or sweet oranges; dried or fresh peels; or specific varieties like Valencia or Satsuma.
What Are Popular Orange Liqueur Brands?
Some mistakenly think popular brands like Cointreau and Grand Marnier are types of orange liqueur. Rather, they are name brands, and arguably the best-known.
Other popular brands include Combier, Ferrand’s Dry Curacao, Mandarine Napoleon, Solerno (a blood orange liqueur) and agave-based Patron Citronge.
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Last Updated: August 2, 2023
