Reviewing Cointreaupolitan

I negotiated my way into a packed house at TGI Fridays last Friday (unfortunately could not walk in before happy hours), Arpan & Vinay, partners of a Bangalore based PR/Events company, introduced me to a Kyndall India`s Brand Manager, Pushpanjali Banerjee. While she was very passionate about the Bols brand in general, she was only too happy to talk to me about Cointreau and the drink they were promoting.

The recipe:

50 ml Cointreau
30 ml Cranberry juice
20 ml lime juice

All shaken together on ice and served straight up with a lemon twist in a martini glass.

Standing in the "moisted by drizzle" chilly Bangalorean air in the alfresco section of TGIF, Pushpanjali explained to me that the Cointreaupolitan (Cp) was invented by the in house bartenders at Cointreau. I was told then that Cp is essentially a Cointreau base drink and has no other alcoholic ingredients. It is targeted only at women drinkers and purported to be very sweet in nature.

As the "politan" part of the name suggests, I was assuming right from the time I heard of Cp it must be a version, derivation or improvisation of the great American - Cosmopolitan. I was lead into the bar of TGIF, and into their cocktail manufacturing section to show how the drink is made. Bartender Suman took out a tiny pink plastic shaker and added all ingredients in their respective measures. On my insistence he added little more ice to the shaker. Although the tiny pink shaker in Suman`s hand looked like a ping pong ball in Magic Johnson`s hands, he did give it a passionate shake and poured the mix into a martini glass. He gave it a lemon twist garnish (Cointreau website suggests an orange zest & you would know why). The Cp was ready for a photo shoot!!!




The look and smell of a Cp are no different from a Cosmo.I took the first sip and boy it tasted nice. The basic nature as it was intended, was SWEET. Mathematically, Cp = Cosmo - Vodka. But then Cosmo is generally equal amounts of all ingredients while a Cp is 50/30/20. Also in a Cosmo, the drink is generally flambayed with an orange zest to release some essential oils on to the drink and then the zest is rubbed around the rim of the glass. Nothing like that is done in a Cp.


As Pushpanjali mentioned to me later and I can`t disagree, Cp is less alcoholic in nature and also being slightly on a sweeter side, women can drink more of it on a single night without spoiling the taste in their mouth. One more advantage of a Cp is that you can be assured of almost NO HANGOVER if you do one too many. Cointreau ,the base of the drink,is a liqueur and not a spirit. Liqueurs generally have much lesser ABV (Alcohol By Volume) compared to spirits like Whiskey, Rum or Vodka. Also liqueurs are made with a number of herbs and botanicals and the distillation process is much finer.


Men's cocktails look and taste like they contain alcohol.Women's cocktails try to disguise the alcohol in them with bright colours, fruit juices and sugar. My conclusion on this drink : Yes, it is a definite ladies drink. Ladies who do not like the strength of alcohol in their drink. Besides it is less complicated to make. Not for sunny times. Being eye-watering, it would be a great accessory in a cocktail lounge or a night club.


Will it kill the Cosmo?? While Cp has its own charm, I don`t think it can kill the Cosmo.

Cointreau killed the Cosmo star!!!

Ladies!!! Move over cosmopolitans. Its a passe now. Get ready to welcome Contreaupolitan which is all set to kill the Cosmopolitan. How, & will it actually achieve that , lets see.

Kyndall India presents "Contreaupolitan Nights" tonite at TGIF, Airport road. Cointreaupolitan Nights is a celebration of women everywhere, and an introduction to the Cointreaupolitan Cocktail. The Cointreaupolitan Cocktail has a unique serving ritual. Upon ordering, you get to shake and make your Cointreaupolitan yourself in a special pink Cointreau shaker. After all that hard work, you get the next Cointreaupolitan absolutely free of cost!

Traditionally a Cosmopolitan is a citrus vodka based drink shaken on ice with lime, triple sec (an orange liquer) and a dash of cranbery juice. In many occasions and I regularly insist that where ever you need to make a triple sec based drink - use Cointreau. It is a superior quality triple sec that give suttle hints of orange and is very flavourful. So I use it in my margaritas as well.

Cointreau has been pretty well accepted in India but there seems to be a special drive to make "IT" the cocktail base instead of the vodkas of the day and hence the special promotion of the drink Cointreapolitan. I have been invited to do a special preview tasting of the cocktail at TGIF tonite before the doors actually open to the happy hours crowd. What the recipe is and how it tastes, I will keep you posted !!!

In any case, if you are around the area, drop in to taste the Cointreaupolitan blend that is a perfect introduction to whole new world of sensations, loved by women worldwide.

7th August: TGIF# 1, Carlton Towers, Airport Road, Domlur, Bangalore - 080 25210570

PS: Cointreau, the world famous orange liqueur brand has a history of over 150 years and has its origins in the suburbs of Angers, France. Ever since its inception in 1849 the recipe has remained unchanged. This crystal clear liqueur is distilled from sweet and bitter orange peels of supreme quality. Cointreau is a product of Remy Cointreau S.A. France. Cointreau is imported and marketed by Kyndal India Private Limited.