Review: Bols Orange Curacao

The thing about triple sec is that it’s an orange liqueur — but it’s transparent in color. Orange curacao gives you the chance to drink sweet orange liqueur that is orange in color. The color isn’t real — it’s caramel — but if you need your drink to not just taste orange but look orange too, well, orange curacao is your way forward.

Or, you know, Grand Marnier.

There’s not a lot of orange curacao out there and none of it is particularly elevated, the same way blue curacao tends to be. But Bols sent us theirs to check out, so we did.

Bols Orange Curacao Review

The product claims to be “distilled from Curaçao orange peels and a hint of rum,” but the finished product is a pretty straightforward affair. Flavors of tangerine meld with lots of vanilla to create an orange cream soda character, quite sweet and a little gummy. To be sure there is plenty of sugar in the mix here, and though it isn’t overwhelming, it layers atop everything with a cotton candy quality that can really start to coat every part of your mouth. If you’ve got a sore throat, hey, maybe that’s a good thing.

Naturally this is mixer material foremost, and in small quantities it acquits itself as well as any other rack triple sec — color excepted — perking up a cocktail with a burst of candylike orangey sweetness. It won’t work well in elevated cocktails, but in your beachy margarita rendition, it’ll be just fine. Dial down the syrup accordingly if you decide to use it.

60 proof.

B / $9 (1 liter)

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