Talking With Grand Marnier's Cellar Master About... Well, Grand Marnier, Of Course

There’s a surprising number of orange liqueurs — sometimes known as triple sec or curaçao — to choose from. Which makes sense because it’s not only a delicious after-dinner sipper, it’s also a vital ingredient in many a cocktail, most famously the margarita, which (if you make it the way I make it) is fully 1/3 orange liqueur. So it pays to use the good stuff over the cheap, chemical-laden brands.

For years my go-to brand has been Pierre-Ferrand’s magnificent Dry Curaçao, a bright, zesty liqueur that adds a little magic to every cocktail in which it’s included. But when I drained the bottle recently, I decided to mix things up a bit. I rummaged around my liqueur shelf and, lo and behold, discovered an unopened bottle of Grand Marnier on hand. Grand Marnier is a lot different from most other orange liqueurs, because instead of using a neutral spirit as its base, it uses cognac, giving it a deeper, richer flavor than most of its counterparts. My wife immediately noticed the difference in the first Marnier-garita I made her. “What did you do? This is amazing!” Needless to say, I’ve stuck with Grand Marnier for all my orange-y cocktail needs since then, and will likely do so until the bottle’s empty.

All this is to say that I interviewed Grand Marnier’s cellar master, Patrick Ragenaud, for Robb Report a couple of years ago. It was an interesting and very pleasant conversation, but the thing I remember most about it is that I wasn’t offered any Grand Marnier to drink while we talked, which kind of bummed me out. But I think the finished article turned out pretty well, even though I was sipping water for the duration, and despite the goofy headline that I didn’t write. Have a look and decide for yourself!.