The 10 Best Cocktails to Make with Cointreau

Sidecar

A direct descendant of the Brandy Crusta, which calls for orange curaçao, the Sidecar first appeared in two classic 1922 cocktail books: Harry MacElhone’s Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails and Robert Vermeire’s Cocktails: How to Mix Them. These books listed a drink with equal measures of cognac, Cointreau, and lemon juice, but subsequent recipes have altered the ratios, calling for two parts cognac to one part Cointreau and one part lemon. 

Although the sugared rim is optional, it’s an unmistakable trademark of the Sidecar—and a nice complement to this classic’s natural tartness.

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Cosmopolitan

This cranberry-vodka modern classic has been tied to different creators, including Cheryl Cook at The Strand in Miami and Toby Cecchini at The Odeon in New York City, but Cecchini is widely credited with popularizing the most modern iteration of the drink in the late 1980s. The pink-hued drink reached peak popularity in the ‘90s, thanks in large part to the television show Sex and the City. 

Perhaps one of the more unfairly-scorned drinks, the Cosmopolitan is still delicious when made in proper proportions with quality ingredients, including citron vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and cranberry juice.

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Margarita

The origins of the Margarita are hotly-debated, as is the use of orange liqueur (variations like Tommy’s Margarita opt for agave nectar instead). Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cointreau leans into the theory that Dallas socialite Margaret Sames invented the Tequila Daisy riff in 1948 with a mixture of blanco tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau, proclaiming that “A Margarita without Cointreau is not worth its salt.” 

Today, variations abound, but many use orange liqueur, agave syrup, or a combination of the two to sweeten the tequila-lime combination. However you make yours, fresh lime juice and a high-quality orange liqueur are easy ways to elevate the classic.

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White Lady

Reportedly created by famed bartender Harry MacElhone at Ciro’s Club in London and featured in his book Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails in 1922, this silky-smooth sour originally included brandy, crème de menthe, Cointreau, and lemon juice. However, a drink of the same name that combined gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and often an egg white supplanted the original by 1929—a version that still persists today. The results are similar to a classic sour with the usual sugar swapped out for orange liqueur.

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Corpse Reviver No. 2

Corpse Revivers date to the 1870s, and this citrusy variation—by far the most popular of the category—was included in Harry Craddock’s 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book. The absinthe-rinsed combination of London Dry gin and lemon juice, sweetened with both Lillet Blanc and orange liqueur, was revived in the early 2000s, as bartenders looked to old-school bar manuals for inspiration.

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Test Pilot

Often overshadowed by the Jet Pilot, this Donn Beach creation actually took off first, around 1941. While the Jet Pilot is made with cinnamon syrup, the Test Pilot calls for Cointreau to sweeten a potent combination of two rums, falernum, lime juice, Angostura bitters, and six drops of Pernod. A short spin in the blender gives the classic a pleasing crushed-ice texture.

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Deshler

This lesser-known pre-Prohibition classic first appeared in Hugo R. Ensllin’s 1917 Recipes for Mixed Drinks and was “probably the first cocktail created in New York with Cointreau,” claims the brand. The spirit-forward drink combines rye whiskey, the French wine-based aperitif Dubonnet Rouge, Cointreau, and Peychaud’s bitters. While original recipes called for rye whiskey and Dubonnet Rouge in equal parts, this variation from bartender Brian Miller uses the two-to-one proportions of a standard Manhattan, producing a drier drink.

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Churchill

Winston Churchill was a famous Scotch whisky drinker, but he didn’t care much for cocktails. That didn’t stop legendary bartender Joe Gilmore from inventing a drink in honor of the politician at his famed hangout, the American Bar, in London. This combination of scotch, sweet vermouth, lime juice, and Cointreau first appeared in print in a 1939 Esquire magazine article. Although it’s sometimes called a Churchill Manhattan, the shaken drink bears few similarities to the classic cocktail apart from its inclusion of sweet vermouth.

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Mai Tai

Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron is often credited with creating this irresistible blend of two rums, orange curaçao, lime juice, and orgeat at his namesake bar in the 1940s. If you’ve only tried saccharine-sweet versions of the classic, you’ll be delighted by the complexity of this citrusy and slightly nutty drink when it’s made with quality ingredients. Keep in mind that what is already a boozy drink will be made even boozier by a higher-ABV orange liqueur like Cointreau. 

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Pegu Club

This aromatic Gin Sour’s origins date to the 20th century, when it was served to British officers at the club of the same name in what is now Myanmar. The combination of gin, lime juice, orange curaçao, and both Angostura and orange bitters appeared in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.

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