Cointreau, the well-known orange liqueur traditionally used as a mixer for margaritas and other cocktails, has introduced the new Cointreau Noir.  It is a great blend of the Cointreau orange liqueur and Remy Martin cognac in one.   It is meant to be served neat over ice or straight, but can also be used as a mixer. 

The new Cointreau Noir is deliciously smooth yet complex, with flavors including orange and vanilla, and it has a beautiful amber color.   They kept it simple with the bottle design as well, retaining the traditional bottle and label style of Cointreau and enhancing it with black and gold colors.

At a recent tasting event held at the gorgeous Villa Azur in South Beach Miami, they featured several specialty cocktails made with the new Cointreau Noir – Villa Azur Margarita: made with Cointreau Noir, Casamigos tequila, fresh lime juice, splashes of orange and pomegranate juices and garnished with a red berry; Side Car: made with Cointreau Noir and lemon juice, with a sugared rim and lemon twist; and the Noir by Night: Cointreau Noir served neat with a flamed orange peel.  All were smooth and delicious! (and I had quite a few to make sure I had a proper sampling of each).  The event was quite nice with a great bar set up in the Villa Azur wine lobby and spilling out onto the sidewalk. The event also featured great music my DJ Stephan M.  It would have been nice if they had served some small bites to complement the drinks since they kind of sneak up on you, but that is probably how we ended up at Gigi in Midtown after the event noshing on their amazing orange peel and thai chili drumsticks and delicious lobster buns.

Cointreau Noir retails for about $45 for a 750ml bottle at www.bevmo.com

-I’ll drink to that!