Production

Cointreau Distillery was set up in 1849 by Adolphe Cointreau, a confectioner, and his brother Edouard-Jean Cointreau from Angers. Their first success was with the cherry liqueur, guignolet, but it was when they concocted a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels and pure alcohol from sugar beets that the success of the enterprise was confirmed definitively. In 1875, the first bottles of Cointreau were sold. It is now estimated that thirteen million bottles are sold each year, in more than 200 countries. 95% of production is exported.
The production methods and recipe are a family secret, but tours of the distillery are open to the public. Photography is restricted in many areas to protect the production process from being copied.
In early 2008, burlesque entertainer Dita Von Teese became the new face of Cointreau's "Be Cointreauversial" advertising and marketing campaign, an arrangement slated to continue through 2010