20 Best Cointreau Cocktails to Brighten Your Spirits

The best Cointreau cocktails are the ones making good use of this well-known orange-flavored liqueur. If you own a bottle and wonder what you can create with this French spirit, this article will give you a lot of ideas to try at home.

Cointreau is a versatile ingredient that you can adapt to many types of cocktails, such as Margarita, Fizz, Spritz, etc. But to know exactly how much to use for each recipe, let’s dive into these instructions.

Save These Irresistible Cointreau Cocktail Recipes For The Next Time You Want A Drink

It usually takes only a few minutes to mix a cocktail, and the same rule applies to Cointreau cocktails. Most of these recipes can be completed in 5 minutes or less, so you can quickly fix a drink to enjoy or experiment with many of them if you have spare time.

Regardless, I will now provide you with useful information to ensure you will enjoy great cocktails.  

1. Mai Tai

Total time: 5 minutes

Mai Tai, a must-try rum-based cocktail, swiftly gained its popularity in many European and American countries before spreading to other regions thanks to a rich, seductive flavor, eye-catching color, and delicate decoration.

You will immediately notice the perfect balance of liquor, syrup, and lime juice when consuming this drink. There’s nothing more romantic than spending the evening with your significant other while sipping a Mai Tai cocktail and listening to soft music.

This recipe manages to keep the original Mai Tai ingredients, including dark rum, aged rum, Cointreau, and lime juice. However, it adds fresh orange juice.

If you need visual instruction on how to make a Mai Tai, check out this video!

2. Cointreau Rose Cocktail

Total time: 5 minutes

Fixing a cup of this Italian cocktail involves Cointreau, sparkling rose wine, ice, and diced strawberries. That’s it. With only four ingredients, it’s fairly easy to make.

Not just that, Cointreau rose cocktail is so refreshing that it can place you in the middle of summer or spring with only one sip.

The one thing I want you to keep in mind is that there isn’t a definite amount of rose wine. You should add the ingredient and taste the mix until you find it enough for your appetite.

3. The Prickly Pear Margarita

Total time: 5 minutes

Margarita is among the most popular classic cocktails made with tequila, which has been developed into hundreds of variations. Originating in Mexico in the 1930s, it traditionally contained tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.

While there are many kinds of triple sec liqueur, opt for Cointreau for the most exquisite flavor.

The Prickly Pear Margarita is the best festive cocktail I’ve ever tasted! The stunning pink hue of this drink comes from the prickly syrup, and that’s its natural color. The taste is even better; it delivers a sweet and fruity flavor with raspberry and watermelon undertones.

You can serve Prickly Pear Margarita in a low ball glass or margarita glass by following this recipe.

4. The Mango Margarita

Total time: 2 minutes

If you are hopelessly looking for some refreshment in the summer, here’s your answer. The mango margarita is tangy, sweet, and icy.

Mango is the star of this delicious mango-flavored cocktail. It comprises a considerable ratio of mango juice, which creates a thick, smooth texture and contributes to the fruit’s signature scent.

As mango juice is thicker than other liquid ingredients, you should shake the mix vigorously and for enough time to make sure they are blended well.

5. Cointreau Blush Cocktail

Total time: 2 minutes

A blush drink is also called a rosé drink because it features a special pink hue that you don’t usually see in other beverages. Within only 2 minutes, you will get a glass of sour, boozy cocktail.

However, the booze in the Cointreau Blush cocktail should not get you drunk. It’s just a light, chill drink you can serve yourself or your friends during a fun summer game night. Top the drink with lemonade and garnish it with a lime wedge to finish the presentation.

6. Pineapple Margarita

Total time: 5 minutes

While you need only four ingredients for this tasty pineapple-flavored cocktail, one of the most important things is that you definitely need a cocktail shaker. If you don’t have it, it’s high time you bought one.

The cocktail shaker plays an important role in creating a perfectly blended mix of pineapple flavor, liquor, and lime juice. Also, it helps to shake the pineapple juice separately before pouring it into the glass. You can also use a mason jar instead of a cocktail shaker, but only in a pinch!

Last but not least, you should salt only half the rim. That way, you can taste the cocktail both with and without salt.

7. The Christmas Margarita

Total time: 5 minutes

This cocktail with a Christmas inspiration can complete your holiday. It features a cranberry twist that adds a new scent, and festive color to the drink. Its tart flavor is balanced by simple syrup, which you can use maple syrup instead.

Apart from that, the recipe retains all the conventional characteristics of a margarita glass. Thanks to the additional ingredients, the cocktail is now less boozy, making it friendlier to a larger crowd. If you are looking for a drink to serve at your Christmass party, opt for this one.

In terms of garnish, to ensure a festive vibe, place a tiny rosemary branch, a piece of lemon, and cranberry fruit on top of your drink.

Instead of simple maple syrup, this bartender uses a different sweetener. What is it?

8. Mango Daiquiri

Total time: 5 minutes

Margarita and daiquiri are both tasty, but one is made with tequila, and the other is rum-based. Meanwhile, a frozen drink, or slushy, comes together by working frozen fruit chunks with other ingredients in a blender.

In this irresistible frozen cocktail, rum is assisted by Cointreau for a more boozy feel, mango chunks are responsible for fruitiness, and lime juice adds a tad sour taste. All in all, they form a burst of citrus flavor in your mouth and your mind.

A tip to make the best frozen daiquiri is to use a powerful blender and don’t blend it for too long. A good blend in 30 to 60 seconds should be enough.

9. Strawberry Basil Margarita

Total time: 2 minutes

When you are bored with the classic Margarita, this strawberry basil version with Cointreau will offer a nice spin on the conventional recipe. It’s sweet, tart, and extremely refreshing, but that’s not even the best part. It’s simple to make, too.

Instead of basil, you can use other herbs to your liking. It will shift both the scent and taste of the drink. For aesthetics, decorate your cocktail glass with a mint leaf and a strawberry slice.

10. Cointreau Blood Orange Mimosa

Total time: 15 minutes

The Cointreau blood orange is perfect for sunny days. It features a light color tone reminding you of sunshine. The sweet and sour blood orange juice and and sparkling champagne will wake your brain cell up immediately.

There’s no complication in brewing this drink. You simply need to combine all of the ingredients and shake well. If you want to garnish the cocktail, top it with some blood-orange slices.

11. French Mule Cocktail

Total time: 5 minutes

Do you have a copper mug sitting in your cabinet? If you do, take it out and fix some French Mule cocktail to enjoy. This is a cousin of the original Moscow Mule, using Cointreau as the base spirit in addition to Vodka and ginger beer.

However, those who prefer a milder taste can replace ginger beer with ginger ale for this cocktail.

It’s no coincidence that the Russians serve Mule in copper mugs. The liquor oxidizes with the material to release a distinct taste you can’t find when drinking from glasses. Additionally, the copper can keep your cocktail chill.

12. Pomegranate Mimosa

Total time: 5 minutes

Pomegranate Mimosa is a delightful, festive alcoholic drink consisting of wine, Cointreau, and pomegranate juice. It’s suitable for Christmas gatherings as the red color matches the holiday theme, and its delicious taste can cheer everyone up instantly.

When shopping for ingredients to make this cocktail, you can either buy fresh or pre-seeded pomegranate seeds. Yet, keep in mind that working with pre-seeded seeds can result in red splashes on your clothes.

To make Pomegranate Mimosa the fastest, you can see how this bartender mixes this cocktail.

13. Wakanda Forever

Total time: 2 minutes

Wakanda Forever is a special cocktail with Cointreau and mezcal as the base spirits. It takes inspiration from the Black Panther (2018) movie, featuring a dark red color with blackberry sprinkles.

Making this Mezcal-based mix drink is as easy as it looks. You just need to muddle the berries with Cointreau in a cocktail shaker, add the other ingredients, then shake well with ice. Lastly, strain the mix into a salt-rimmed ice glass, and it’s ready to serve.  

14. The Peach Cosmopolitan

Total time: 5 minutes

The Peach Cosmopolitan earns a place on this list as an excellent martini cocktail for the summer. Compared with the original version, this recipe adds Peach vodka, offering a flavor blast to help you escape the extreme heat.

A glass of Peach Cosmopolitan is great for an afternoon by the pool. Finish the drink with some fresh peaches. You can also go for canned peaches if fresh ones aren’t available.

You can serve it with cheese and crackers, which will balance out the sharpness of this drink. If you find the drink too strong, try cutting the recipe in half.

15. Cointreau Fizz

Total time: 2 minutes

Cointreau orange-flavored liqueur is one of the most versatile ingredients, featured in many drinks like Mai Tais, Sidecars, Cosmopolitans, and Margaritas, among other cocktail staples. And it helps create an intriguing fizz cocktail as well.

Taking after the basic fizz, the Cointreau fizz contains soda water that gives it a mild acidic taste on the tongue. It’s also easy to make, consisting of only three ingredients: Cointreau, lime juice, and soda water.

You should only use freshly squeezed lime juice to guarantee the most refreshing flavor for the drink. Garnish your delicious cocktail with an orange blossom sprig to enhance its visual appeal.

16. Cointreau Spritz

Total time: 2 minutes

Sparkling wine is a must-have ingredient for this recipe, or it won’t be a spritz anymore. In this recipe, though, Cointreau steps in and contributes an orange-flavored liqueur to the cocktail. It’s often served over ice in a low ball glass, a wine glass, or a martini glass.

To fix a Cointreau Spritz, you need to pour the liquids into a glass, Prosecco, orange juice, Cointreau, and club soda, respectively. Then, stir the mixture gently, and it’s ready for you to enjoy. Don’t forget to add an orange wheel to complete your delicious cocktail.

17. Raffles Hotel Singapore Sling

Total time: 2 minutes

The creation of this cocktail dates back to the 20th century, thanks to Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese-Chinese bartender. At the same time, the drink’s name reflects where it came to life, the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

That said, if you can’t go to the country, just recreate the Raffles Hotel Singapore Sling at your home bar. Simply mix together Gin, Cointreau, Cherry brandy, lime juice, pineapple juice, Dom Benedictine, Grenadine, and Angostura Bitters.

The result will a charming cocktail with a pinkish hue and a crowd-pleasing flavor.

Here’s how the Raffles Hotel makes its signature Singapore Sling.

18. White Lady

Total time: 15 minutes (excluding canning time)

Originally, the White Lady did not contain egg whites. But the addition of this ingredient has made the cocktail irresistible. You need to spend more time and effort to make the drink, but the result is worth it.

To prepare for this cocktail, you need to let thyme sprigs sit in a jar of Cointreau for a week. The thyme-infused liqueur will be used to fix the White Lady.

So, if you want to quickly make the beverage anytime you like, you should prepare a large amount of infused Cointreau. It can last indefinitely.

19. Classic Margarita On The Rocks

Total time: 5 minutes

When you are done trying all the tweaked versions of the Margarita, why not go back to the original? The Classic Margarita On The Rocks comes in a balance of flavors. It’s adequately sweet, tangy, and salty, but nothing’s over the top.

Plus, it doesn’t contain any fruit juice that alters the overall taste of the drink. Instead, it uses agave, which enhances the lime and tequila flavors. Serve it with chips or salsa, and you can sit back to have a good long chat with a close friend.

20. Sparkling Cosmopolitan

Total time: 3 minutes

The sparkling Cosmopolitan offers a slight change from its conventional recipe by adding champagne. On its own, champagne tastes a little fruity and fizzy, featuring a lingering fragrance. The liquor dedicates these characteristics to the sparkling Cosmopolitan.

With the presence of champagne, the bubbly Cosmopolitan now becomes a great alcoholic drink for celebrations. And if you like the pink hue, you have met the right cocktail.

One Cocktail A Day, Keep The Boredom Away

Which one of these Cointreau cocktails appeals to you the most? Which one do you want to try first? No matter what, I hope these recipes will become your new source of joy when you need a few sips on a dull day.

If you find this article a great help in your mixology journey, why not share it with more people? I think they will appreciate delicious cocktails just as much as you do.