Grand Marnier is a liqueur made from cognac and Citrus Bigaradia bitter orange, a variety from the Caribbean. The liqueur was invented in 1880 by Louis-Alexandre-Marnier-Lapostolle, whose family moved to Cognac to flee the German invasion in 1870. There he bought cognac, which he took to the family distillery of Neauphle Le Château once the war was over. He decided to mix this with a bitter orange spirit. The name Grand Marnier came from César Ritz, the founder of the famous palace in Place Vendôme, who is said to have announced, “Grand Marnier, a grand name for a grand liqueur!” Since 2016, the brand has been owned by Campari. Grand Marnier’s flagship products are Cordon Rouge and Cordon Jaune. The first stays true to the original recipe and the second uses grain spirit instead of cognac.

An old bottle of Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, a bitter orange and cognac liqueur.