We had the pleasure of visiting the New York offices of Grand Marnier to celebrate the summer weather with some refreshing cocktails.

Patrick Reguenaud, the Master Distiller for the House of Marnier Lapostolle, joined us all the way from France to talk about the Grand Marnier brands.  As the Master Distiller, he is in charge of the “quality and consistent superiority of state and style for all of the company’s marques produced by this iconic French spirits company.” With hefty responsibilities like that, it’s a given that he knows his stuff when it comes to fantastic liquors, and especially those from the House of Marnier Lapostolle.

We kicked off our night of cocktails with a sparkling number topped with some GM and garnished with raspberries, an uplifting way to start off. The deep flavors of Grand Marnier bodes well as an enhancement to spice up a regular margarita. This margarita is also taken to another level with KAPPA Pisco from Chile, also part of the HoML portfolio.

For something a bit stronger, they served up a GM Manhattan, potent but very smooth. My favorite drink from the night was the non-mojito mojito. The mint leaves complemented the cognac and brightened up the drink, making this my official cocktail for Summer 2013.

Grand Marnier had another reason to celerbate, as they released three new marques in 2013: GM Titanium, Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach, and Grand Marnier Cuvée 1880. The GM Titamium is “an exotic new blend of wild tropical orange essence and Asian Calamansi citrus with a dash of spices, rounded out by the fine, smooth Cognac for which Grand Marnier is known.” The Raspberry Peach combines European raspberries and red peaches from the South of France for a fantastic summer blend. Both of these options are great additions to the bar for your next summer party out on the patio.

The Grand Marnier Cuvée 1880 was created to commemorate the creation of GM in 1880. Priced at $350.00, joins the award-winning Cuvée du Centenaire ($199.99) on the elite spectrum of the Grand Marnier portfolio.

Speaking of elite, there may not be anything much more grand than the Grand Marnier Quintessence. First introduced in 2011 in limited quantities, Quintessence is made with the most precious Cognac from the private reserves of the Marnier Lapostolle family with very rare Cognacs that date back to 1906. With a price tag of $899.99, this is a bottle of luxury and extravagance pursued by true connoisseurs.

We had a great time tasting some fantastic Cognacs and are eager to host our own Grand Marnier cocktail party this summer.

Yours,
Von