Grand Marnier varieties
 

We have always had Grand Marnier in the house for as long as I can remember. I have noticed that Grand Marnier have more expensive varieties:

Cuvee Louis Alexandre, the Centenaire, and the Cent Cinquantenaire -- they are respectively 2x, 3x, 4.5x more expensive than regular Grand Marnier.

Has anyone tried these more expensive GMs? Are they worth the extra? Are they "smoother" and "silkier" than the regular stuff?

Thinking of buying one for my Mum's birthday which is coming up in the New Year... any thoughts and advice is greatly appreciated.

I bought a bottle at duty free and attached was a mini with a blue lable. I think it was Centenaire. I've never seen any other variety anywhere else except for that mini.

I think I have found part of the answer I was seeking:

http://www.grand-marnier.com/gmv2/us/grand-marnier.htm

Still, has anyone tried these??

Don't drink a lot of Marnier any more but, the Centenair
is certainly smoother, like comparing a brandy to a
cognac. If you drink cognac rather than brandy, then drink Centenair.
Also there is lighter, less alcoholic ( 18%)
aperitif called Pineau des Charentes which is very good.
Much easier on the system than martini's.

I've tried all of them, and there is a definite improvement as the price goes up, but not proportionately with the price -- and more importantly, less than you get with the corresponding cognac grades. I'd rate it at about a 10% improvement at each level ... so the best is less than twice as good. By contrast 5x increase in price in brandies will yield much more increase in quality. I find mixing regular grand marnier with hennessy xo to be higher quality than the Cent Cinquantenaire for example (and using Paradis would be much better). I suspect they don't use the best cognacs in these blends, despite the labeling, based on what I've tasted.

While an excellent aperitif (and mostly unknown in the US), pineau des charentes is not very good as a digestif (which is the primary use of grand marnier, at least as I drink it). Try calvados instead (again hard to get in the US, at least for the better grades).

Thanks number_6!! I think I will go for Louis Alexandre this time around and also get a nice bottle of shampers (Bollinger) for my Mum......