Triple Sec

Photo: flickr user Bright Meadow

About

A sweet orange-flavored liqueur. It is a common ingredient in cocktails, especially the Margarita, and ads sweetness and flavoring. Some brands are made from brandy or cognac, these can be sipped neat or on the rocks as an after dinner drink.
Triple sec can be clear or have a golden hue. It is traditionally made from the dried peel of oranges. Triple sec can also be used in baking to add an orange flavor.

Physical Description

Triple sec (meaning "Triple distilled") is a strong, sweet and colorless orange flavored liqueur.

Colors: colorless

Tasting Notes

Flavors: sweet, citrusy

Mouthfeel: Thick, Sticky

Beverage complements: Vodka

Substitutes: Cointreau

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Choosing: There are a lot of popular brands that make Triple Sec. You can go on the recommendation of your friends or your local mixologist on which brand to buy or you can make one yourself.

Buying: Depending on how much you need for your cocktails. Triple Sec is available in different sizes.

Preparation and Use

Just measure, pour, and mix with your favorite cocktails.

Conserving and Storing

Store the bottle in a cool dry place.

Social/Political

History: [TRIH-pl-sehk] A clear liqueur flavored with the peels of both sweet and bitter oranges. It's one of the most elegant of the curaçaos. Although the name means "triple dry," this smooth, fruity potable is sweet, though not cloying. It is made from the dried peel of oranges found on Curacao, an island in the Caribbean.

The spirit was invented in 1834 by Jean-Baptiste Combier in Saumur, France. Original Combier triple sec is still made today using sun-dried orange skins from Saint-Raphaël, Haiti steeped in alcohol for 24 hours and distilled in 100-year-old copper-pot stills.