Name: Grand Marnier Liqueur
Color: Light Brown
Nose: Orange, citrus zest, sugar, earthy cognac
Taste: Orange, sugar cream, cognac finish
Grand Marnier is a French orange flavored liqueur which is a blend of cognac, orange, sugar, and is bottled at 40%abv. It was created in the 1880’s and is enjoyed as a after dinner drink, in cocktails, and used in certain foods. I had not sampled Grand Marnier in years, but I needed it to make special flavored cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, so I thought it was worth a review.
In the late 1990’s I worked in the restaurant business in Cape Cod and afterwork we would go out for drinks. A coworker always ordered a Sam Adams Lager & Grand Marnier. One might I decided to order the same combo and for many years after that I drank Grand Marnier as an after-dinner drink. In the early 2000’s occasionally my friend and I would play darts and drink Guinness in a British dive bar in Ft Lauderdale. The loser had to buy the winner a Grand Marnier Centennial. I recall that being a $25 drink at the time.
Grand Marnier is a good after dinner drink, but my preference has changed as I have gotten older. It is now too sweet for me to really enjoy neat. I made an Old Fashioned and it was still too sweet for me and became harder to drink as the ice melted.
Cocktails: Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Sangria, Sidecar, B-52, and Old Fashioned.
Cooking: Flambé dishes (crêpes Suzette), Grand Marnier soufflé, and crème brûlée.
Other expressions: Cordon Rouge, Cordon Jaune, Cuvée du Centenaire (“Centennial Edition”), Cuvée Spéciale Cent Cinquantenaire, and Cuvée Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle.
Priced around $35+ and worth the money as a after dinner drink, mixer, or cooking liqueur if you like the flavor profile.
If you like it, drink it! – Chris
If you like it, drink it!
