Orange liqueur, triple sec and curaçao

A drink may be called a liqueur if it contains at least 15 percent alcohol and is sweetened with at least 100 grams of sugar per litre, expressed as invert sugar. That is set out in Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I, in the liqueur category. For cherry liqueur based on cherry distillate the figure is 70 grams, and for liqueur flavoured solely with gentian or wormwood 80 grams.

The base may be ethyl alcohol or a distillate of agricultural origin, or one or more spirit drinks, such as cognac. Flavourings, agricultural products or foodstuffs are added to that. So triple sec and curaçao are not separate legal categories: they are names that producers use for orange liqueur that meets these requirements.

The difference lies mainly in the peel that is used. Triple sec is the name for a clear orange liqueur. Cointreau, with its house in Angers, calls itself a triple sec and makes it by distilling sweet and bitter orange peel, at 40 percent alcohol.

Curaçao refers to the island. Senior & Co on Curaçao has been making liqueur from the dried peel of the laraha since 1896. According to the house, the Spanish brought the first seeds of the Valencia orange in 1527. The sun and the dry climate made the fruit bitter and almost inedible, but the sun-dried peel turned out to contain essential oil. Distillation takes place in a copper still from 1896 and takes about 17 days.

Blue curaçao is blue because of added colouring, not because of the orange. Senior & Co explains that the liqueur is mixed with the food colouring Brilliant Blue (FD&C Blue No. 1) and then filtered. The house's genuine blue curaçao has 31 percent alcohol; according to Senior & Co, many other blue curaçaos are between 20 and 25 percent.

Blue curaçao syrup is a different product. Under Regulation (EU) 2019/787 a liqueur must have at least 15 percent alcohol, so an alcohol-free syrup can never be sold as a liqueur. Anyone searching for alcohol-free blue curacao syrup is therefore not looking for a liqueur. In recipes they are sometimes used interchangeably, because both mainly add colour. The alcohol percentage on the label shows the difference straight away.

In a cognac-based liqueur, the alcohol base is not neutral alcohol but cognac. The regulation allows a liqueur to be made with one or more spirit drinks as its base. Grand Marnier is the best-known example: the house describes its liqueur as a blend of cognac and bitter orange liqueur and has worked with that combination since 1880.

Grand Marnier has several cuvées, including Cordon Rouge, Cuvée Louis-Alexandre and Cuvée du Centenaire. Cointreau also has a cognac variant: Cointreau Noir. In English the whole category is called orange liqueur; triple sec, curaçao and the cognac variants all fall under it.

The shop on the Brink in Bathmen has 21 bottles of orange liqueur, from the Netherlands, France, Italy, Scotland and Ireland. From Grand Marnier, the Cordon Rouge, the Cuvée du Centenaire and the Louis-Alexandre are on the shelf. Cointreau is also available as Cointreau Noir. From De Kuyper there are the Triple Sec and the Oranjebitter.

You will also find Hooghoudt Sinaasappel, the Arancello and Bloedarancello from Achterhoekse, the Orancello from Jongens van Oud West, Aurum, Caffo Clementino, Lekkerding and Petrus. If you would rather start from whisky, there is Grant's Summer Orange and Jameson Orange. Unsure between triple sec, curaçao or a cognac-based option for a cocktail or after dinner? Call ’t Bockje or drop in at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.