Liqueurs

Grand Marnier

Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge is French cognac combined with a distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar, on its maker’s site, at 40% ABV. It is a liqueur rather than a brandy, though the cognac shows: it is amber and heavier than a triple sec. By its maker’s account Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle created it in 1880; we use it as the orange in the Grand Margarita and the top layer of the B-52.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABV

Legal categoryLiqueur

OriginFrance

Flavour Strengthmedium bold

SeasonYear-round

Our keeping timeYears unopened. Once opened, a year or more kept sealed and out of the light; the fruit and aromatics fade first.

Storage

Store upright in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Reseal tightly after use to preserve aroma.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes change: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Grand Marnier

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Bitter-orangeCognacVanillaWarm spice

Tasting Notes

Deep orange aroma with notes of caramelised citrus, vanilla, and oak. Rich mouthfeel with warming Cognac character and a long, smooth finish.

Cognac and bitter orange, combined in 1880

Grand Marnier is a liqueur built on brandy. Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle created it in 1880, combining French cognac with an orange liqueur distilled from bitter oranges, the peels of the Seville orange by the Oxford Companion’s account, and a touch of sugar. The house says the Cordon Rouge recipe has not changed since. It is 40% ABV and amber from the cognac.

It sits between a triple sec and a cognac

People ask whether it is a brandy, and the honest answer is partly. It has the sugar and orange of a liqueur and the oak of a cognac, and it behaves like neither in a drink.

Grand Marnier between triple sec and cognac (Grand Marnier from its maker’s page and Difford’s Guide, a secondary source; the triple sec is Cointreau, on its own figures; cognac’s usual strength from the Oxford Companion; the sour row is ours)

What it is

Triple sec (Cointreau): Orange liqueur on neutral spirit
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge: Cognac with a distilled orange liqueur and sugar
Cognac: Grape brandy aged in oak

Strength

Triple sec (Cointreau): 40%
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge: 40%
Cognac: Usually 40%

Sugar

Triple sec (Cointreau): Yes
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge: Yes
Cognac: None

Colour

Triple sec (Cointreau): Clear
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge: Amber
Cognac: Amber

In a sour

Triple sec (Cointreau): Clean orange and the sugar
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge: Orange, sugar and brandy weight
Cognac: The base spirit

	Triple sec (Cointreau)	Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge	Cognac
What it is	Orange liqueur on neutral spirit	Cognac with a distilled orange liqueur and sugar	Grape brandy aged in oak
Strength	40%	40%	Usually 40%
Sugar	Yes	Yes	None
Colour	Clear	Amber	Amber
In a sour	Clean orange and the sugar	Orange, sugar and brandy weight	The base spirit

It is a different drink, not a better triple sec

Use it in place of triple sec and the character shifts. The Grand Margarita is written for it: 45ml of blanco tequila, 30ml of Grand Marnier and 15ml of lime, shaken hard and served over ice with a half-salted rim. The cognac brings oak and dried fruit that a triple sec Margarita lacks.

In the B-52 it is the top of three layers. It is the lightest of the three, so poured slowly over a bar spoon it floats on the Irish cream, which floats on the coffee liqueur.

It is also a sipping liqueur

Neat or over ice it makes a digestif, and the older-cognac bottlings, such as the Cuvée du Centenaire, made with XO cognacs by its maker’s account, are made for that rather than for mixing. In our experience an opened bottle lasts for years if the cap goes back on.

Using it

Using Grand Marnier

Usage

15ml as the top layer of the B-52, floated over Irish cream, and 30ml in the Grand Margarita, where it stands in for triple sec beside tequila and lime. Many people drink it neat or over ice, as a liqueur in its own right.

Pro Tip

Taste a Grand Margarita before adding any syrup. The 30ml of Grand Marnier carries enough sugar for 15ml of lime, and if the lime is sharp, the answer is a smaller squeeze, not syrup.

Top Tips

Do not swap it measure for measure with triple sec. It brings brandy and weight, so the drink changes rather than improves.
Pour it with aged spirits. The cognac base sits naturally with brandy and with whisky or rum that has seen oak.
For the B-52, chill the bottle and float it last, poured slowly onto an upturned spoon, so it rests on the Irish cream.
Cordon Rouge, the red-ribbon bottle, is the one recipes mean. The older-cognac bottlings are made for sipping.

Possible Substitutions

Triple Sec: Cointreau or another triple sec: lighter, less depth
Orange Curaçao: Drier or sweeter, by style

Production Method

By its maker’s account, French cognac combined with a distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar; its maker’s page also speaks of aromatic orange essence.

History & Context

By its maker’s account, Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle created Grand Marnier in 1880 by combining French cognac with a distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar, and the recipe has not changed since. The Oxford Companion, a secondary source, says the peels are of the bigarade, or Seville orange, distilled and infused in young cognac, and dates his curaçao made with aged cognac to 1891 and the name Grand Marnier to 1899; the maker’s page says the Cuvée du Centenaire, made with XO cognacs, was created in 1927.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is Grand Marnier?

A French orange liqueur made by combining cognac with a distilled bitter-orange liqueur and sugar. Cordon Rouge, the standard bottle, is 40% ABV and amber, and tastes of orange peel with brandy behind it. By its maker’s account, Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle created it in 1880.

Is Grand Marnier a brandy?

No, it is a liqueur. It contains cognac, which is a brandy, but the orange liqueur and sugar make it a liqueur in the glass; the Oxford Companion, a secondary source, calls it a proprietary brand of curaçao made in France from bitter oranges and cognac. That is why it sits beside Cointreau rather than beside cognac in a recipe, even though it carries more brandy character than any triple sec.

What is in Grand Marnier?

French cognac, a distilled orange liqueur made from bitter oranges, and sugar. The house has never published the proportions for Cordon Rouge. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, says cognac makes up 51% of Cordon Rouge, which gives an idea of how much brandy the range is built on.

What is the difference between Grand Marnier and Cointreau?

Cointreau is a clear triple sec; Grand Marnier, by its maker’s account, is cognac with a distilled orange liqueur, and amber. Both are 40% ABV, on Cointreau’s own figures and Difford’s. Cointreau gives a sour clean orange and its sugar; Grand Marnier adds the same orange with brandy, oak and more weight, so the drink comes out darker and heavier.

Can I use Grand Marnier instead of triple sec?

You can, but expect a different drink. In a Margarita it makes the Grand Margarita: richer, darker and tasting of cognac. In a Cosmopolitan or a White Lady, where triple sec is meant to stay in the background, it tends to take over. Use about 5ml less than the triple sec measure and taste.

How strong is Grand Marnier?

Cordon Rouge is 40% ABV by Difford’s Guide’s account, the same as Cointreau’s own figure and most spirits, and our unit counts use it. In our experience it drinks heavier than the number suggests because of the sugar and the cognac, so make room for it in a drink that already has a full measure of spirit.

How do you drink Grand Marnier?

Neat at room temperature in a small glass, or over ice, as an after-dinner liqueur. In mixed drinks it suits tequila and brandy sours and layered shots: our Grand Margarita takes 30ml, and the B-52 floats 15ml on top of coffee liqueur and Irish cream.

Sources.

Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.

Grand Marnier, “Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge” (producer’s page (1880, Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle; cognac, distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar; recipe unchanged)).
Difford’s Guide, “Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge” (secondary source: 40% alc./vol.; created in 1880 by Louis-Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle; cognac makes up 51% of the content; 200 grams of sugar per litre).
Cointreau, “Nutritional information” (producer’s page (Cointreau L’Unique, 40% of alcohol per volume)).
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, “cognac” (secondary source: cognac reduced to 40 percent, the level at which most cognacs are sold).
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (Doug Stailey), “Grand Marnier” (secondary source: a proprietary brand of curaçao from bitter oranges and cognac; the Lapostolle family from 1827; Marnier’s curaçao with aged cognac of 1891; renamed Grand Marnier in 1899; peels of the bigarade, or Seville orange, distilled and infused in young cognac).
Grand Marnier, “Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire” (producer’s page: created in 1927 to mark 100 years of Maison Marnier-Lapostolle, founded in 1827; XO cognacs, mostly Grande and Petite Champagne; best served neat).

Make something

Made with Grand Marnier

Featured In These Cocktails

Grand Margarita B-52

Often Used With

Updated 19 October 2026

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