Review: Hiram Walker Triple Sec
Can an $8 bottle of Hiram Walker Triple Sec really go toe to toe with the gold standard of curacao, Cointreau? Hiram thinks it can, and sent a bottle of its budget orange liqueur to taste side by side with Cointreau, which at $35 is more than four times the price.
In a nutshell: Yeah, it pretty much can.
Mind you, I love Cointreau and use it in all manner of cocktails where orange is required, but the price is pretty gaudy. Luckily you use so little a bottle of Cointreau typically lasts for three or four years in the average home bar.
But let’s say you’re drinking margaritas every night. What to do? Maybe an $8 triple sec is a better pick.
Side by side, I expect most tasters would struggle to pick out which is which. The most notable difference is proof: Cointreau is 80 proof and Hiram Walker is 60 proof, and you can taste the extra alcohol in the Cointreau. Cointreau also has more of a bitter edge drawn from orange peel, which Hiram’s triple sec has more of a bold, tangerine character that really tastes of fresh juice. Very sweet and lush.
Now a bottle of Hiram Walker may not impress anyone with its garish colors and dated bottle design, but if you were to, say, pour a bottle of Hiram triple sec into an empty bottle of Cointreau, well, I wouldn’t tell anyone you did it.
60 proof. (Also available in two lower proof versions.)
A- / $8 [BUY IT NOW FROM TOTAL WINE]
Hiram Walker Triple Sec
$8
I’ve tried Hiram twice. I don’t know what lab creates their orange flavor, but it goes pretty damn musty.
I Like it. I agree with the review.
DB
Everything is getting more expensive because Biden spends money like a drunken sailor. So I must lower my standards and drink Hirams. Not a bad taste for the money.
Hiram tastes like orange flavoring (and not even a pleasant facsimile) as opposed to any actual organic material that was once an orange. If you HAVE to have an orange liqueur and you CAN’T spend more than $20 then I’d get Gran Gala. No, it’s not a neutral based orange liqueur, but at least it tastes like oranges were used in its manufacture.