Cointreau cocktails
10 classic recipes from our canon that use cointreau — Cointreau sits in our liqueurs & fortified shelf.
Margarita
Bright, salty and bracing — the benchmark every other sour is measured against.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml blanco tequila
- ◆20 ml triple sec
- ◆15 ml lime juice
Method
- 1Rim a chilled coupe with salt if you like.
- 2Shake all ingredients hard with ice for 12 seconds.
- 3Double-strain into the glass.
PRO TIP
Use fresh lime juice only — bottled juice flattens the whole drink.
Garnish — Lime wheel
Cosmopolitan
Tart, pink and razor-sharp — far better than its reputation suggests.
Ingredients
- ◆40 ml vodka
- ◆15 ml triple sec
- ◆30 ml cranberry juice
- ◆15 ml lime juice
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until well chilled.
- 2Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Use citron vodka if you have it for an extra zesty lift.
Garnish — Lime wheel
Mai Tai
Two rums, orange, almond and lime — the tiki benchmark, not a fruit-punch slushie.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml white rum
- ◆15 ml triple sec
- ◆15 ml orgeat
- ◆30 ml lime juice
- ◆7 ml simple syrup
- ◆30 ml dark rum
Method
- 1Shake white rum, triple sec, orgeat and lime with crushed ice.
- 2Pour unstrained into a rocks glass.
- 3Float the dark rum over the top.
PRO TIP
A real Mai Tai is rum-forward and barely sweet — orgeat is the almond note.
Garnish — Mint sprig and spent lime shell
Sidecar
Cognac, orange liqueur and lemon — a sharp, elegant brandy sour from the Jazz Age.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml cognac
- ◆20 ml triple sec
- ◆20 ml lemon juice
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe, sugar rim optional.
PRO TIP
Cointreau is the classic orange liqueur here.
Garnish — Orange twist
Long Island Iced Tea
Five spirits, lemon and a splash of cola — no tea, all trouble.
Ingredients
- ◆15 ml vodka
- ◆15 ml gin
- ◆15 ml white rum
- ◆15 ml tequila
- ◆15 ml triple sec
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆30 ml simple syrup
- ◆to top cola
Method
- 1Shake everything except the cola with ice.
- 2Strain into an ice-filled highball.
- 3Top with cola for colour and a touch of sweetness.
PRO TIP
The cola is what gives it the iced-tea look — there's no actual tea in it.
Garnish — Lemon wedge
Corpse Reviver No. 2
Equal parts gin, Cointreau, Lillet and lemon with an absinthe rinse — a bright, dangerous eye-opener.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml gin
- ◆30 ml cointreau
- ◆30 ml lillet blanc
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆1 dash absinthe
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
PRO TIP
Just a dash of absinthe — too much and it bulldozes everything else.
Garnish — Orange zest
Between the Sheets
A Sidecar split between rum and cognac — boozy, citrusy and dangerously smooth.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml white rum
- ◆30 ml cognac
- ◆30 ml triple sec
- ◆20 ml lemon juice
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Cointreau is the classic choice for the triple sec.
Garnish — Lemon twist
Lemon Drop Martini
Vodka, lemon and orange liqueur with a sugared rim — tart candy in a glass.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml vodka
- ◆20 ml triple sec
- ◆15 ml lemon juice
Method
- 1Sugar the rim of a chilled coupe.
- 2Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 3Double-strain into the glass.
PRO TIP
Citron vodka pushes the lemon even further.
Garnish — Sugar rim and lemon twist
White Lady
Gin, orange liqueur and lemon — a crisp, citrus-forward Sidecar that switched spirits.
Ingredients
- ◆40 ml gin
- ◆30 ml triple sec
- ◆20 ml lemon juice
Method
- 1Shake all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 2Strain into a chilled coupe.
PRO TIP
Cointreau is the classic choice for the triple sec here.
Garnish — Lemon twist
Brandy Crusta
A sugar-crusted brandy sour with maraschino and curaçao — the ancestor of the Sidecar.
Ingredients
- ◆52 ml brandy
- ◆7 ml maraschino liqueur
- ◆1 bar spoon triple sec
- ◆15 ml lemon juice
- ◆1 bar spoon simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes aromatic bitters
Method
- 1Sugar-crust the rim of a slim glass and line it with a curl of citrus peel.
- 2Stir all ingredients with ice until cold.
- 3Strain into the prepared glass.
PRO TIP
The wide sugar crust is the signature — take your time rimming it.
Garnish — Sugar rim and citrus peel
You can also use
Common substitutions that interchange with cointreau in these drinks.
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