Cointreau was created in 1875 by Édouard Cointreau in Angers, France. The story began with the Cointreau family's confectionery shop, established in 1849, where they first experimented with fruit liqueurs.
Édouard's innovation lay in developing a unique method to distill sweet and bitter orange peels to create a crystal-clear liqueur, distinct from the colored curaçaos popular at the time. The signature square bottle was designed to reflect the purity and balanced nature of the spirit.
The recipe, which remains unchanged, uses a blend of dried orange peels from various sources, including Haiti, Brazil, and Spain, creating a complex flavor profile through triple distillation.