Welcome to the Tiki Central 2.0 Beta. Read the announcement
Tiki Central logo
Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop

Tiki Central / Tiki Drinks and Food

Green Cointreau? How Old Is It?

Pages: 1 2 replies

These days, when we say, "Cointreau", we only mean the fine orange liqueur. Apparently, one might once have said 'Cointreau' when referring to... Creme de Menthe!
Look what I found in the pantry at an estate sale, this past weekend:
Front

Back

Side

Back label close-up

I guess the couple enjoyed a Grasshopper Cocktail, way back somewhere, and thought they'd make them at home. But they never did - the Creme de Menthe was never opened, and the de Cacao has maybe 3/4 ounce missing. The sides of both have "COINTREAU" and "3/4 QT." in the glass.
Any liquor historians have an idea when Cointreau was licensing their name/formulas for other liqueurs, not just the orange liqueur we now refer to as Cointreau?

Seems that cointreau made more than just cointreau.
I'd be more worried about the orange creme de cacao than the green creme de menthe!

On 2008-09-08 14:12, Tikiwahine wrote:
...I'd be more worried about the orange creme de cacao than the green creme de menthe!

Yes, it looks pretty orange in the picture. Color is really more amber, like bourbon and water. But I wonder if that used to be typical of creme de cacao. Now, it's either very dark brown or clear. But I have another old bottle of Old Mr. Boston Creme de Cacao that is also light brown, but transparent:

I think these are the original colors. I don't think age causes it to darken, because my parents have had the same bottle of white creme de cacao in the top of their pantry for at least 30 years, and it's still perfectly clear. (If I'd've only known, as a teenager, that it wasn't going to be checked for another 30 years, I'd have drank it and refilled it with water!)

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2008-09-08 15:06 ]

Pages: 1 2 replies