Paula's Texas Orange

After quite a bit of searching (most of it quite tasty), I feel I have finally found a worthy "economic recession" replacement for my favorite orange liqueur, Cointreau. Cointreau is outstanding in my favorite mixed drinks like margaritas and comsopolitans, but tends to run $37-$40 for a 750ml bottle. And it never seems to be on special in my local store, Twin Liquors.

With the cutback actions taken at my company (mentioned in a previous post here), I needed to save some money, so I began trying cheaper substitutes. I tried Patron Citronge, Gran Gala, and Bauchant to only marginally acceptable results (the Citronge isn't that bad). But when I tried Paula's Texas Orange, my search was over.

Paula's is made in Austin, TX, and is unfortunately only available in Texas right now. As good as it is, though, I hope they'll expand and make it available to the rest of the country. It has a very fresh, light orange flavor that does not taste artificial at all. It makes great margaritas and cosmos. Heck, you can even make an All-Austin Cosmopolitan by using Paula's and your choice of three different Austin-made vodkas: Tito's, Dripping Springs, or Savvy.

While I still think Cointreau is the best, Paula's Texas Orange allows me to make margaritas and Cosmos that taste almost as good as those made with Cointreau, but for much lower cost. That's certainly something to be appreciated these days. Cheers!

Additional side note: "What about Grand Marnier?", you may ask. While I agree that Grand Marnier may be one of the best orange liqueurs out there, I prefer G-M for straight sipping in a cognac / brandy snifter. I think it's a bit heavy and overpowering for my margaritas and other mixed drinks. But this is simply my personal preference. Arguing about whether Cointreau or G-M is a better orange liqueur is like debating whether an Aston-Martin DBS or a Porsche 911 Turbo is a better car.