Today we have the Marmalade, a drink made from Curaçao and tonic water. We didn’t use our blue Curaçao because Mrs. Bottle didn’t want to use it. I’m not quite sure why she didn’t want to use Curaçao in a drink that called for Curaçao but sometimes it is better to just let these things go. Trust me on this.
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| Does not look like marmalade |
We’ve discussed a bit in the past that Curaçao tastes like oranges even though genuine Curaçao is made with larahas instead of oranges. The only reason I bring this up now is because I am trying to set the world record for the most mentions of Curaçao in one blog post. Curaçao. Since we didn’t have any non-blue Curaçao we had to decide what to use as a substitute. Our choices were triple sec, Cointreau, and Grand Marnier. I wanted to go with Cointreau since its pronunciation is an inscrutable as Curaçao’s (here’s how not to say it) but Mrs. Bottle insisted we research to find the best option. It was at this point when I really wanted to suggest we just use our actual bottle of Curaçao but thought better of it. The only reason I feel safe even writing that is because Mrs. Bottle is in a different state right now.
According to Wikipedia, the original name for Cointreau was "Curaçao Blanco Triple Sec" so it was looking promising as a substitute. Then I found this guy who says “Cointreau is probably the most recognized brand of orange liqueur in the triple sec style, and Grand Marnier, despite being French, is more in line with the Dutch curacao style”. As you probably know, a random web site carries almost as much weight as a Wikipedia article so I was now confused about the viability of Cointreau as compared to Grand Marnier as a Curaçao substitute. Mrs. Bottle then consulted our Ultimate Encyclopedia of Wine, Beer, Spirits, and Liqueurs which said that Grand Marnier was the closest to a genuine Curaçao but that it was a “finer” product. We immediately ruled out the Grand Marnier. Not because it is too fine, but because that stuff is spendy.
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| Does look like marmalade Clearly did not use blue Curaçao either Img |
At this point we just threw up our hands and decided to go with our el-cheapo triple sec. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a whole lot of difference in any of these liqueurs other than marketing anyway. Maybe we need to do an orange liqueur taste-test. Regardless, the drink was decent but nothing special. Mrs. Bottle kept saying she only tasted the tonic water, but I thought it tasted like an orange soda that was way past its expiration date. I think it may have tasted better if it has been blue.
Overall Rating for the Marmalade
Taste: 3
Presentation: 4
Ease of Preparation: 4 – Had to slice an orange
Drinks Until Blackout: 12 – 6.5% Alcohol
Ingredients
1.5 oz Curaçao
4 oz Tonic Water
* Please no e-mails, we know it is Marmalard in Animal House
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