Liqueurs

Triple Sec

Triple sec is a clear orange liqueur, flavoured with the peel of both sweet and bitter oranges on neutral spirit and sweetened. Cointreau, trademarked in 1885 as Cointreau Triple Sec by its own account, is 40% ABV, and our recipes are balanced on that strength; cheaper triple secs can be as weak as 15% and are usually sweeter. It is the orange and all of the sugar in the Margarita, the Sidecar and the White Lady.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABVBottlings run from about 15 to 40%; Cointreau is 40% on its own site.

Legal categoryLiqueur

OriginFrance

Flavour Strengthlight medium

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.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes vary by brand: check the bottle.

The ingredient

About Triple Sec

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

OrangeCitrus peelSweetLight bitterness

Tasting Notes

Bright orange aroma with clean citrus sweetness and gentle bitterness from peel oils. Lighter body and shorter finish than Cognac-based orange liqueurs.

Cointreau is the triple sec our recipes are written for

Triple sec is orange peel, neutral spirit and sugar, brought to a clear liqueur. Cointreau was trademarked as Cointreau Triple Sec when Édouard Cointreau created it in 1885, from dried and fresh sweet and bitter orange peels; the house has since abandoned the term and calls it more than a triple sec. Eight of our recipe lines name Cointreau, alone or as "Cointreau or triple sec", and every one of them points here.

What makes a swap work is strength. Cointreau is 40% ABV, and the units on our recipes are worked out at 40%. A triple sec at that strength does the same job in the Cosmopolitan, the Long Island Iced Tea or the Corpse Reviver No. 2. One at 20% brings half the alcohol and a sweeter drink.

In a sour it is the only sweetener

Our Margarita has no syrup: 20ml of triple sec carries all of its sugar against 15ml of lime. The Sidecar and the White Lady are built the same way. That is why a sugary bottle tips them at once, and why the fix for a sour that is too sweet is less triple sec rather than more citrus.

In the long drinks, such as the Long Island Iced Tea and the Lynchburg Lemonade, it is one flavour among several, and a cheaper bottle shows less.

The orange liqueurs people confuse it with carry brandy or dye

Triple sec, orange curaçao, Grand Marnier and blue curaçao all taste of orange, and recipes swap them more freely than they should.

Triple sec against the other orange liqueurs

Made on

Triple sec (Cointreau): Neutral spirit
Dry orange curaçao: Neutral spirit, or partly brandy in some dry styles
Grand Marnier: Cognac, with orange liqueur
Blue curaçao: Usually neutral spirit

Strength

Triple sec (Cointreau): 40%; cheaper bottles from about 15%
Dry orange curaçao: About 25 to 40%
Grand Marnier: 40%
Blue curaçao: About 20 to 25%

Colour

Triple sec (Cointreau): Clear
Dry orange curaçao: Amber
Grand Marnier: Amber
Blue curaçao: Blue, from food colouring

In a drink

Triple sec (Cointreau): Clean orange and all the sugar of a sour
Dry orange curaçao: Bitter orange and weight, in small measures
Grand Marnier: Orange with brandy behind it
Blue curaçao: Colour first, sweet orange second

	Triple sec (Cointreau)	Dry orange curaçao	Grand Marnier	Blue curaçao
Made on	Neutral spirit	Neutral spirit, or partly brandy in some dry styles	Cognac, with orange liqueur	Usually neutral spirit
Strength	40%; cheaper bottles from about 15%	About 25 to 40%	40%	About 20 to 25%
Colour	Clear	Amber	Amber	Blue, from food colouring
In a drink	Clean orange and all the sugar of a sour	Bitter orange and weight, in small measures	Orange with brandy behind it	Colour first, sweet orange second

Two houses claim the style

Combier, in Saumur, dates its triple sec to 1834, the bottle it now calls L’Original Combier. Cointreau dates its house to 1849 and its orange liqueur to 1885, when it was trademarked as Cointreau Triple Sec, a term the house has since abandoned. Both dates are the houses' own. The bottle you pour matters more: check that it is 40% before trusting a recipe's balance.

Using it

Using Triple Sec

Usage

From 7.5ml to 30ml in our recipes: 20ml in the Margarita and the Sidecar, 15ml in the Cosmopolitan and the Long Island Iced Tea, 30ml in the White Lady and the Corpse Reviver No. 2. In a sour it is the sweetener as well as the orange, so the drink needs no syrup.

Pro Tip

When you open a different bottle, make one Margarita and taste it before the round. A new triple sec at another strength or sugar level moves the whole drink, and it is easier to correct the lime than to guess.

Top Tips

Read the strength on the label first. Our recipes assume 40%; a 20% bottle brings half the alcohol and usually more sugar, so pour a little less and taste.
Where a recipe names Cointreau, any triple sec at 40% does the same job. A weaker, sweeter one makes a softer drink.
If a sour comes out too sweet with a new bottle, take 5ml off the triple sec before you reach for more citrus.
Keep the cap tight and the bottle out of the sun. In our experience the orange smell is what an open bottle loses first.

Possible Substitutions

Orange Curaçao: Drier or sweeter, by style
Grand Marnier: Richer, on a cognac base

Production Method

Produced by macerating dried orange peels in alcohol, distilling the infusion, then sweetening and diluting to bottling strength.

History & Context

Two French houses lay claim to the style. Combier, in Saumur, dates its triple sec, now L’Original Combier, to 1834 in its own history. Cointreau’s own site dates the house to 1849, when Adolphe Cointreau, a confectioner in Angers, turned to liqueurs, and its orange liqueur to Édouard Cointreau in 1885, trademarked then as Cointreau Triple Sec, a term the house has since abandoned.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is triple sec?

A clear liqueur flavoured with orange peel, usually a mix of sweet and bitter oranges, made on neutral spirit and sweetened. Strengths run from about 15 to 40% ABV. It is the orange liqueur in most sours that use one, where it brings sugar and orange perfume in the same pour.

Is Cointreau a triple sec?

By origin, yes. Cointreau’s own site says Édouard Cointreau’s 1885 liqueur was trademarked as Cointreau Triple Sec, a term the house has since abandoned, and now calls it more than a triple sec. It is made from sweet and bitter orange peels, alcohol, sugar and water, at 40% ABV: the strength our drinks are balanced on.

Can I use triple sec instead of Cointreau?

Yes, if it is 40% ABV. Eight of our recipes name Cointreau, from the Cosmopolitan to the Corpse Reviver No. 2, and any 40% triple sec does the same work. A weaker one carries more sugar for its alcohol, which leaves the drink softer and sweeter; trim the measure by about 5ml.

What is the difference between triple sec and curaçao?

Both are orange liqueurs. Curaçao takes its name from the Caribbean island whose bitter oranges first flavoured it, and some dry curaçaos are made partly on brandy, which makes them amber and rounder. Triple sec is clear and made on neutral spirit. A dry curaçao in a Margarita makes it richer and heavier.

Is triple sec the same as Grand Marnier?

No. Grand Marnier describes itself as cognac with distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar, so it is amber and tastes of brandy as well as orange. Triple sec is clear and made on neutral spirit. Both can be 40% ABV, Grand Marnier by Difford’s Guide’s listing, but Grand Marnier adds weight to a sour where triple sec lifts it.

How strong is triple sec?

Anything from about 15 to 40% ABV. Cointreau is 40% on its own site, and the unit counts on our recipes use that figure. Cheaper triple secs are often well under it, so they bring less alcohol and more sugar to a drink. The name gives no guarantee of either; the label does.

Does triple sec go off once opened?

It does not spoil; at that sugar and strength nothing can grow in it. What fades is the orange smell, slowly over a year or more, and faster in a warm, bright room. A screwed-down cap and a dark cupboard slow that down.

Sources.

Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.

Cointreau, “Cointreau History” (producer’s history (1849, Adolphe Cointreau, Angers confectioner; 1885, Édouard Cointreau, dried and fresh sweet and bitter orange peels)).
Cointreau, “Cointreau Triple Sec” (producer’s page (trademarked in 1885 as “Cointreau Triple Sec”, a term since abandoned; “more than a triple sec”; 40% Alc./Vol.)).
Cointreau, “Savoir-faire” (producer’s page (sweet and bitter orange peels, alcohol, sugar and water)).
Combier, “L’histoire de Combier” (producer’s history (1834, Saumur: the “Triple Sec” now called L’Original Combier)).
Grand Marnier, “Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge” (producer’s page (cognac, distilled orange liqueur and a touch of sugar)).
Difford’s Guide, “Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge” (secondary source: alc./vol. 40%).

Make something

Made with Triple Sec

Often Used With

Updated 19 October 2026

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