Bartending/Alcohol/Orange liqueur

Triple sec, the most common type of orange liqueur, gets its name from the distillation process. Sec means dry. Triple sec means triple dry, or triple distilled. It's a useful orange-flavored liqueur.

Inexpensive triple secs tend to be much sweeter and with a less assertive orange flavour than Cointreau and other high-end triple secs. Therefore they will balance cocktails differently, often making them too sweet or not as orange-flavoured as would be expected. Different triple secs will require different proportions, and with some of the cheapest, which are low-proof grain alcohol and artificial flavorings, no proportion will be quite right. Be sure to taste your ingredients and invest in those which will create a more balanced drink. Also, those with a brandy base rather than a neutral base will be slightly sweeter and of a different character, and cannot always be directly substituted.

Cointreau

40% ABV (80º proof)

Origin: France

Flavor: Sweet and bitter orange peel.

Appearance: Pale orange, almost colorless

Curaçao

Blue Curaçao

31% ABV (62º proof)

Origin: Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

Flavor: Laraha orange peel

Appearance: Azure blue

Dry Orange Curaçao

31% ABV (62º proof)

Origin: Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

Flavor: Laraha orange

Appearance: Pale orange

Grand Marnier

40% ABV (80º proof)

Origin: France

Flavor: Cognac, orange distillate.

Appearance: Brandywine