The devil works hard, but triple sec works harder.
Put very simply, triple sec is an orange liqueur, but clearer, cleaner and zestier. Why, you ask? Well, unlike other orange liqueurs, triple sec tends to be made from a neutral spirit derived from beet sugar. Dried orange peels are steeped in the neutral spirit and then redistilled. After that, the flavoured spirit is mixed with more water, sugar and spirit. Good triple secs sit between 38 to 42% ABV, while others are just a touch lower.
Now, let’s look at the terminology. ‘Sec’ translates to dry and ‘triple’ means three times – so, triple sec is three times/triple dry. This could be due to the neutral spirit’s distillation, or the fact that most triple secs use drier styles of orange peels instead of sweet oranges. It could also be in reference to Cointreau, which uses three different styles of dried orange peels – fresh sweet peels, dried sweet peels and bitter dried peels.
It can be enjoyed on its own over some ice, or built over some rocks and topped with soda, but triple sec is most commonly used as an ingredient in cocktails. The most popular, of course, being the Margarita, which, according to legend, was invented by Margaret “Margarita” Sames in 1948. Her idea was to make a cocktail that basically heroed her two fave bevvies – Cointreau and tequila.
Aside from the world’s most popular and potentially most delicious cocktail, triple sec features heavily in The Long Island Iced Tea, the foofy pink Cosmopolitan, a White Lady, the sour Lemon Drop and the emerald green Japanese Slipper.
