Grand Marnier – 70 cl

Grand Marnier is a popular orange liqueur made in France from a blend of French cognac and bitter orange liqueur. That familiar bottle that adorns bars worldwide is technically called Cordon Rouge, though it's most often simply called Grand Marnier. It is the best-known French liqueur on the market and among the top choices for orange liqueurs in the world. Grand Marnier is a brilliant cocktail ingredient and it offers a smooth citrus taste when drunk on its own.

Substitutions Grand Marnier is sometimes used as a generic term for an orange liqueur and there are plenty of substitutes available. The best options are those that also use a brandy base, such as the Italian Gran Gala. For many recipes, you can also use a premium-quality triple sec (Cointreau is a favorite) or curaçao. Grand Marnier can be a substitute for any of these in most cocktails as well. To retain the quality of your cocktail, avoid extremely cheap orange liqueurs as they can be syrupy and throw off the drink's balance.

Fast Facts

• Ingredients: Orange peel, brandy
• Proof: 80
• ABV: 40%
• Calories in a shot: 76
• Origin: France
• Taste: Sweet, slightly bitter citrusy
• Serve: On the rocks, cocktails, shots

An exceptionally smooth brandy with rich complex flavors, Beautiful amber color with golden reflections.

Vinous notes and aromas of candied fruit, very lightly roasted

Rosé Imperial displays a pink color with amber highlights. Lively and intense, the bouquet exudes red fruits (wild strawberry, raspberry, cherry) with floral nuances of rose and a slight hint of pepper. On the palate, the wine shows a juicy intensity of berries (strawberry, raspberry, red currant) rounded out by the fleshiness and firmness of peach and the freshness of a subtle note of mint.

Tasting Panel: Lovely pink hue; fresh, fragrant, and smooth with notes of strawberry and apple; elegant and long.

Wine Spectator: Delicate verbena and candied pink grapefruit zest accents lead to macerated blackberry, toasted nut and saline notes in this balanced and creamy rosé, with well-cut acidity.

Wine & Spirits: This blend is mostly Pinot Noir and Meunier, including 10 percent red wine for color. Chardonnay accounts for 10 to 20 percent, including a portion of reserve wines that may be providing the oceanic, oyster-shell notes that bring to mind Champagne's Kimmeridgean limestone. This is broad and loose up front, with fruity scents of orange and pomegranate. Then the wine keeps buzzing with brisk acidity, tightening up and extending the flavors with energy. An impressive release of Imperial.

James Suckling: A complex and fresh nose with fresh berries, as well as berry pastry and biscuits. The palate has a fresh, crisp and lively feel with impressively upbeat berries. Drink now.

Decanter: Restrained red fruit nose. Long, rolling palate, fresh and crisp throughout, with abundant cranberry, sherbet lemon, green herb and ginger flavours.

Light nose of apple, a tinge of cinnamon plus apple and butterscotch in the taste, this is a smooth, approachable and Cognac.

Playful, bright and straight forward with a soft vanilla finish.

Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label looks beautiful: golden-yellow, with a foaming necklace of tiny bubbles. Next it is so pleasing to the nose: initially reminiscent of yellow and white fruits, then of vanilla and later of brioche. Note the fine balance between the fruity aromas coming from the grape varieties and the toasty aromas, the result of the three years of bottle aging. The first sip delivers all the freshness and strength so typical of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label with a symphony of fruit tastes following (pear, lemon).

Find this and more exceptional selections at Kaasak.

A bright pale yellow color with green highlights, with a stream of many fine bubbles. Intense with notes of  tropical fruits and citrus. Creamy and smooth, very pleasant and well balanced.