| Triple Sec | |
| Type: | Liqueur |
| Abv: | 30% |
| Manufacturer: | (various) |
| Origin: | Saumur, France |
| Introduced: | 1834 |
| Color: | clear |
| Flavor: | orange |
Triple sec is an orange-flavored liqueur.
It is widely used in mixed drinks and recipes as a sweetening and flavoring agent. Better-quality brands are made from brandy or Cognac and are often sipped alone, typically as a digestif.
Some brands are colorless (or nearly colorless) while others have the golden coloration of their brandy base. It is made from the dried peel of oranges found on Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean.
The spirit was invented in 1834 by Jean-Baptiste Combier in Saumur, France. Original Combier triple sec is still made today using sun-dried orange skins from Saint-Raphaël, Haiti that are steeped in alcohol for 24 hours and distilled in 100-year-old copper-pot stills.
The word sec means dry in French. Typically, the term dry indicates a lack of sweetness. However, in this instance, it means triple distilled.
Triple sec typically contains 30% alcohol (by volume), that is, 60 proof (US), though brands may have anywhere from 15% to 40%.