Cointreau Noir and the Chocolate Orange

Cointreau has been my go-to triple sec for quite a while. This French liqueur goes in my margaritas, daiquiris, boulevards, and more other cocktails than I can count. Utilizing sweet and bitter orange peels, Cointreau is a great shortcut to a sweet orange flavor that plays well with citrus and all kinds of spirits, so I keep an ample stock on hand.

Cointreau NoirGiven my trust in the brand, when I noticed a bottle of Cointreau Noir marked down at Publix Liquors, I decided to give it a try. Once I got past the awesome copper-colored bottle, I noticed that the liqueur itself sports a slight gold coloration by contrast to the normally-clear Cointreau; this is likely due to the presence of cognac in the Noir. At first taste, this liqueur carries the sweetness and effervescence of traditional Cointreau, but there’s a distinctly nutty/vanilla flavor at play here as well that softens it and builds it out more than traditional Cointreau. The Noir fills the palate more completely and is just fine when taken straight, so I was immediately curious to see how it would behave in a cocktail.

Cointreau Noir will be making its way into my margaritas and sidecars and such in the coming weeks, but for my first cocktail with it, I decided to start with a flavor combination I’ve been wanting to try for a while: chocolate and orange. And what better place to start than with a vanilla-heavy bourbon? My thought process was that the vanilla tones of the Noir should interplay beautifully with Four Roses, and its smoothness should then make a great counterpoint to the punchier Aztec Chocolate Bitters. The drink still needed a little something though, and a few drops of spiced cherry bitters did the trick. I’ve made this cocktail a few times for friends now, and if they have a sweet tooth, a few bar spoons of turbinado syrup can enhance it that much more. Here’s the final recipe:

Chocolate OrangeThe Chocolate Orange
– 1.5 oz Four Roses Bourbon
– 3/4 oz Cointreau Noir
– 3 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
– 6 drops of Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters
– 2 barspoons of turbinado syrup (optional)
Stir all ingredients and strain over ice ball in rocks glass. Garnish with expressed orange peel or orange/cherry flag.

Again, I’ll be trying Cointreau Noir in a variety of drinks in the weeks ahead, but the Chocolate Orange was a great starting point. Cointreau Noir is delicious, but I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of its uses. That being said, if you’re on a tight budget, you’re probably better off sticking to traditional Cointreau unless you can find the Noir on sale like I did. The Noir is really fun to play around with, but with its richer nuttier flavor, it doesn’t quite have the flexibility of its more standard counterpart. Then again, my opinion may change once I’ve had it in more cocktails, so I’ll update this post as I continue to experiment. In the meantime, it’s definitely the coolest looking bottle on my shelf.

One thought on “Cointreau Noir and the Chocolate Orange

  1. Thanks for the chocolate orange tecipe. Curious how your trials with other Cointreau Noir recipes went. Anything particularly stand out or bomb?

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