Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao Triple Sec Liqueur (700ml)

A new Triple Sec employing Pierre Ferrand cognac as its base. Pours slightly viscous, bright gold. A joy to the nose with perfumed scents of fresh orange cake and orange peel over a juicy, sweet centre. The viscous, svelte-like entry leads into a creamy, concentrated burst of orange flesh / peel / pith with a gently warming supporting spirit. Hints of mandarin on the finish. Concludes with the sweetness tempered, followed by a candied orange peel aftertaste. A juicy, plush rendition that sits comfortably in the Triple Sec pantheon along side the likes of Combier and Cointreau as one of the world’s best. 40% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... Less sweet and more sprightly than most orange liqueurs, the aroma explodes with orange peel and marmalade. The palate echoes those notes, finishing brisk and slightly bitter, tinged with ginger sparks. 95 points - wineenthusiast.com

A citrus smorgasbord with clementines, orange peel and pith, and grapefruit zest, as well as toffee, and grape jelly. The palate showcases zesty oranges with vanilla bean, along with touches of herbaceousness and spice. The finish is warming with bitter orange, tingly black pepper, and tannic black tea. A triple sec that's close to perfection. 96 points - distiller.com

Triple sec or curacao are an essential ingredient in so many cocktails, and stylistically they cover a wide range of focuses. But they all tend to have one thing in common (well, besides tasting like oranges): They’re generally quite sweet. And so it was that cocktial god David Wondrich teamed up with Cognac producer Pierre Ferrand to create a drier style of curacao. Fittingly called Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, this spirit is meant to take the often sickly sweet stuff into a more refined direction. It is made by infusing unaged brandy with Seville orange peels; this infusion is then redistilled, blended with Cognac and spices (including star anise, more orange, and sugar), then aged in barrels for an indeterminate time (not long, I’d guess). It’s bottled at 80 proof. The resulting spirit is quite impressive. To say it’s not sweet would be a lie. This is, after all, still a triple sec, where sweet oranges are the primary character of the nose and the palate. Lots of vanilla and nut character in there too, with a particularly buttery body — though I didn’t pick up on the anise in the blend. Overall it’s a wonderful curacao that would add a delightful spin to any cocktail and is also quite delicious consumed on its own. - drinkhacker.com