- Origin
- an accord composed by the perfumer
- Raw materials
- orange, liqueur and vanilla notes
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- citrus, gourmand (“boozy”)
- Position in the pyramid
- top note and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- orange oil, cognac oil, vanillin
Orange liqueur is a sweet strong drink made from orange peel, like French triple sec or a cognac-based liqueur. In perfume this note combines bright citrus zest with a warm, heady sweetness.
How it smells: warm, sweet and juicy: orange zest, caramelised sugar, a soft boozy and cognac shade, a faintly bitter note of peel. Orange liqueur sounds festive, cosy and made for the evening.
Such liqueurs use the peel of both sweet and bitter oranges: the bitter one gives a noble astringency, the sweet one juiciness. The perfumer repeats this combination, adding vanilla and woody notes of “ageing”.
What it pairs with: with cognac — the classic “aged orange”, with cinnamon and clove — Christmas fragrances, with chocolate — “chocolate orange”, with vanilla and tonka — warm dessert compositions, with woods — an evening base.
Good to know: the famous crêpes Suzette are flambéed with orange liqueur — the flame caramelises the sugar and brings out the aroma of the zest.
