Cointreau
Cointreau [ kwɛ̃'tʀo ] is a brand name for three liqueurs that are made from different orange peel and thus belong to the Curaçaos . In general, Cointreau describes the classic Triple Sec with a white label.
The brand belongs to the Rémy Cointreau group and is distributed in Germany by Team Spirit Internationale Markengetränke GmbH.
Manufacturing
The starting point is orange peel from sweet and bitter oranges from the company's own plantations in Haiti and Spain , as well as from purchased oranges from Brazil . The crushed shells are placed in alcohol for maceration . Cold alcohol slowly removes the aroma from the orange peel. The distillation then takes place . Finally, sugar, water and neutral alcohol are added to the high-percentage distillate to produce the classic Cointreau. This Cointreau is used in Cosmopolitan , Margarita and other cocktails .
history
In 1849 the brothers Adolphe and Edouard-Jean Cointreau founded the first Cointreau distillery in Angers ( France ) . In 1875 Edouard Cointreau Junior took over what was then still a small company. He not only invented the famous liqueur, but also the square bottle made of brown glass, which has been characteristic since then. His liqueur was awarded a First Prize at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878 . In 1885, Cointreau registered the brand name.
The importance of advertising was recognized very early on: Cointreau had the Lumière brothers produce a first commercial for Cointreau shortly after the first public film screenings. In 1898, the Italian poster designer Nicolas Tamagno created the figure of Pierrot, who would remain the company's mascot for 50 years. In 1920 and 1950, respectively, Cointreau's sons André and Louis took over the company; Between 1950 and 1960, Pierre, Robert and Max Cointreau joined the company and accelerated global expansion, which in 1990 led to the merger with the family company Rémy Martin and the establishment of the Rémy Cointreau group .
In September 2007 the burlesque actress and stripper Dita Von Teese became the official “brand ambassador”.
sorts
In addition to the classic Triple sec Cointreau in a bottle made of amber glass with a white label, there have been two other varieties in the range for several years.
Cointreau Noir
In principle, the Noir is made according to the same recipe as the classic Cointreau. However, after the distillation, it is not topped up with tasteless neutral alcohol, but with cognac . The Grand Marnier brand also has a comparable system , with the classic Cointreau corresponding to the Cordon Jaune and the Cointreau Noir corresponding to the better-known Cordon Rouge .
By adding cognac, the Cointreau Noir is much milder in taste and has a brownish color. It is bottled in bottles made of colorless glass, the size and shape of which correspond to the classic shape. The Noir variety is not sold in Germany, but is available as an import.
Cointreau Blood Orange
For this variety, which is also sold in Germany, peel of blood oranges from Corsica are mixed in with the sweet and bitter orange peel for extract. This variety is bottled in bottles of the classic shape with a red label.
Trivia
In March 1943, the resistance fighters against National Socialism Henning von Tresckow and Fabian von Schlabrendorff used a box with two bottles of Cointreau to smuggle an explosive bomb disguised as a present for Adolf Hitler into Hitler's plane (this scene is also in the film Operation Walküre - Das Stauffenberg Assassination re- enacted ). Since the bomb was deposited in the luggage compartment, it iced up and did not explode.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Source for all historical data: www.cointreau.de , accessed on July 28, 2008.