Ready to meet the strength of the crystal clear spirit, are baskets laden with sun-dried orange peels, their intricate colours defining different orange flavours; greenish-bronze for bitter, orangey-red for sweet, which yield a greater fruit intensity. Their heady fragrance will soon be revealed by the following steps.The peels are fully dried, macerated and finally distilled in gloriously burnished red copper stills to extract every drop of the precious essential oils. The other ingredients (alcohol, sugar and water) which are also completely natural give the liqueur its creamy roundness and aromatic vigour that inspires the mouth. Like an intimate secret, the recipe itself is faithfully guarded.Renowned for its fine balance, Cointreau is at once intense and gentle, warming and refreshing, bitter and sweet; delivering a beguiling twist of; "je ne sais quoi" that never leaves one indifferent. Remember, taste, like beauty, is often born from contrast. Surrender to its charms.The exotic sensuality of white flowers, fruits and spices married with pure essential oils from sweet and bitter oranges arouse curiosity and heighten the imagination. It is like a mix of natures rich ripe fruitfulness and warm sparkling sunshine.On first appearance the spirit is without artifice, flowing naked and crystalline from its amber bottle. This purity clouds on contact with ice, which confers a gossamer pearl-white aspect to its translucent robe.