Cocktail Builder
Tips, tricks, and advice for mastering mixology.
Triple Sec Cocktails: 4 Ways to Polish Off Those Dregs

Triple sec: a key ingredient in many of our favorite cocktails, but hard to use up in the right amount of time. While the orange liqueur lends sweetness to many well-known recipes, it’s often used in sparing amounts. Triple sec will never be unsafe for you to drink. However, just like any open bottle of alcohol, it does lose its flavor and freshness slowly over time. In general, it’s recommended that triple sec be consumed within a year of opening, and ideally kept cold in the fridge. If you’re worried about the declining quality of your triple sec, turn to the following recipes to use it up before you need to throw it out.

Tequila Daisy OK, technically this is just a margarita. In fact, daisy means margarita in Spanish. According to cocktail history, a daisy is any drink that combines citrus juice with a sweetener (think grenadine or orange liqueur). The base spirit can pretty much be anything you want it to be. Not a fan of tequila? Simply swap it out to create a brandy, gin, or whiskey daisy instead. See recipe

Kamikaze Shots Mix triple sec with vodka and lime juice for another take on the daisy — more commonly known as the Kamikaze. This tangy recipe is so quick and easy, it makes for the perfect shots to serve at a party. (You could even mix a big batch ahead of time.) If you’re more the cocktail-sipping type, merely triple the amount of each ingredient. See recipe

Cosmopolitan Looking for something a little bit sweeter? Add cranberry juice to your Kamikaze to create a Cosmopolitan. While its connection to Sex and the City has given it a bad rep through the years_,_ it’s actually quite the well-balanced drink. See recipe

Long Island Iced Tea Ready to put your party pants on? Look no further than the Long Island Iced Tea. Made with vodka, gin, rum, and tequila, it’s famous for being a cocktail that can do some serious damage in a short amount of time. It also includes a full ounce of triple sec, making it a wonderful way to polish off those dregs. See recipe