Cointreau is a versatile orange-flavored liqueur that’s been a bar staple for over 130 years. It’s a popular ingredient in many classic cocktails and can also be enjoyed on its own as a sipping liqueur. But because you don’t use much of it per cocktail, you might be understandably worried whether the remaining Cointreau will go bad or expire.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the shelf life of Cointreau and whether it goes bad. We’ll find out whether Cointreau has an expiry date. We’ll also cover the various factors that could impact the longevity of the liqueur.
Does Cointreau go bad?
The good news if you’ve got an old or opened bottle: Cointreau doesn’t go bad.
This is because Cointreau is a distilled drink – some say triple distilled, though the actual method is a closely guarded secret.
Because the ingredients are simple – a selection of dried orange peels, neutral alcohol, water, and a pinch of sugar – Cointreau doesn’t go off.
Why? Simple. There is nothing in Cointreau that can go bad over time.
It’s a bit like whisky or wine. As long as they’re not opened, they don’t go bad (unless the bottle’s damaged, of course). But you may be thinking that the drinkability of wine depends on how long you’ve left it for. Is Cointreau the same?
The key thing to know, then, is how long you can leave it for. Of course, the manufacturer tells you that with the expiry date. Does Cointreau have one? Read on to find out…
Does Cointreau have an expiry date?
As you can see in this video, a bottle of Cointreau isn’t marked with an expiry date:
If you pick up and examine any Cointreau bottle, there is no clearly marked expiration date.
Sometimes you might see something that looks like a date printed on the label. However, don’t be fooled! This is a code printed on the label for quality control purposes.
For example, the brewery might need to identify bad batches that were made on a certain date. Any similarities to an expiry date are purely coincidental.
As we’ve noted above, Cointreau is a distilled drink. In keeping with other distilled drinks like whisky and soju, which can’t go off, Cointreau doesn’t have an expiration date.
So now we’ve learnt that Cointreau doesn’t have an expiry date.
But what about once it’s opened? Are there any limits to how long you can keep it for?
How long can you keep Cointreau?
As we’ve established, Cointreau doesn’t have an expiry date. So the good news is that, if you want to, you can keep Cointreau for as long as you like!
Because there’s no expiry date, and nothing in the drink to go bad, it has an essentially indefinite shelf life. Though if you have Cointreau available, I’m not sure why you’re not off making a margarita!
However, there are a few caveats to that statement. As anyone who’s left a bottle of Cointreau open for a while, sometimes the sugar can react to the oxygen in the air. This can leave it with a bit of a sticky rim (ooh-er).
But while this might make the bottle a bit more difficult to open, this doesn’t impact the quality of the sweet liqueur inside the bottle.
Secondly, if the bottle is left in suboptimal conditions after having being opened, this might affect the taste. If it’s not stored in a cool, dark place, then environmental factors such as direct sunlight might affect the flavor.
If you haven’t screwed the lid back on properly, then of course there’s always the risk of something getting in the bottle that shouldn’t. Barflies in particular might be attracted to the sweetness of the orange and sugar.
And whilst Cointreau doesn’t freeze, like other types of triple sec such as Grand Marnier, we don’t recommend keeping it in the freezer for a long period of time. This won’t help preserve it any longer than keeping it in a cupboard.
But whilst this won’t cause it to go off, can anything else?
Can Cointreau go off?
If you’re a wine drinker, you’ve likely heard about the concept of “corking”. This happens when there’s a problem with the cork treatment, or when wine undergoes a process called oxidation.
This happens due to oxygen getting into the bottle. This turns alcohol into water and sulfuric acid, causing it to spoil.
Nothing similar can happen to Cointreau because it’s a distilled alcohol. It also comes in a screw top bottle which, when sealed, wouldn’t let in oxygen anyway.
As we’ve noted above, even when it’s opened, provided you don’t do anything silly it will last indefinitely.
Lastly, unlike wine or whisky, Cointreau doesn’t benefit from aging, or need time to mature to reach peak drinking condition. So there’s no need to store it for any length of time. Once it’s in the bottle, it’s ready to drink, or mix into your favourite cocktails!
In conclusion – does Cointreau expire?
No – Cointreau doesn’t expire. Unless you keep it in really suboptimal conditions or the container gets damaged, you should be able to keep Cointreau for many years, even when it’s been opened.
In conclusion, because of the method and the ingredients used to make Cointreau, there is nothing in the world famous orange liqueur that can go off. Whilst we don’t recommend keeping soju indefinitely, especially if the bottle’s been opened, it shouldn’t massively affect the flavour if you do.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
This is a bit of a contradiction – because Cointreau doesn’t expire. But because of this, if you’ve had a bottle sitting around for a while, it should be absolutely safe to drink.
But please double check it’s not been contaminated before you drink it – for example, that the lid hasn’t been screwed on properly, meaning something’s got inside the bottle.
The short answer is: absolutely nothing.
Because Cointreau is a distilled alcohol, and it doesn’t expire – as we’ve learnt in this article – nothing bad will happen to you. Other than the usual results of drinking too many margaritas, of course!
Even if the Cointreau has been hanging around your house or bar for a long time, any ill effects will only happen as a result of anything that’s got into the bottle.
Conceptually, there’s no such thing as ‘expired Cointreau’, as it doesn’t have an expiration date, so this question isn’t exactly correct.
But you didn’t come here for a philosophy lesson. Feel free to drink that bottle you’ve got in front of you!
No, Cointreau doesn’t expire after opening.
There’s nothing in Cointreau that can go off because it’s a distilled drink. So, much like vodka, gin or whisky, it doesn’t expire or spoil just because it’s been opened.
If you want to know how long it lasts after opening, or how best to store it, check out the FAQ below.
Cointreau can, in theory, last indefinitely.
Because there’s nothing in the drink to go bad, and it doesn’t have an expiry date, you can in theory keep it for as long as you like, even after it’s been opened.
It’s best to keep it in a cool, dark environment with the lid firmly screwed on to make sure it doesn’t leak, or spoil through the sunlight shining through the glass.
But other than that, you should be safe to drink an opened bottle of Cointreau even if you’ve had it for a while.
You won’t be able to – because Cointreau doesn’t have an expiry date!
Because it’s a distilled drink, with no ingredients that can go off, there’s no need for the distillers in Angers, France, to print an expiry date on the bottle.
Sometimes you might see something that looks like a date printed on the label. However, don’t be fooled! This is a code for quality control purposes, in case a batch needs to be recalled, for example.
There is no expiration date located on a bottle of Cointreau.
Though the label usually has a code printed on it, this is for quality control purposes, and isn’t an expiration date.
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