Grand Marnier Louis-Alexandre Cuvée Liqueur

Grand Marnier was created in 1880 when Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle built an orange liqueur on Cognac rather than neutral spirit, infusing the peel of bitter Bigaradia oranges and marrying it to aged brandy. The Louis-Alexandre cuvee, named for his son, leans harder on that Cognac than the standard Cordon Rouge, and is bottled at 40%.

It carries candied orange, dried apricot, vanilla and fine oak, with a spicy Cognac depth that sets it apart from a clean triple sec. Behind the bar that depth is the point: where Cointreau lifts and brightens, Grand Marnier adds richness and oak, so it shines in stirred and Cognac based drinks, a Sidecar, a Grand Margarita or a B-52, and takes beautifully to a warmed glass as a neat digestif.