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Geijer California Orange Liqueur
About Geijer California Orange Liqueur
Geijer California Orange Liqueur is produced by Geijer Spirits Inc, a San Francisco, California based spirits brand best known for their traditional glögg. Founded in 2011 by Swedish immigrant Martin Geijer, the brand aims to capture the cross section of Swedish and Californian culture.
This particular bottle of Orange Liqueur is made using bitter orange peel and vanilla bean. Unfortunately, I was not able to confirm more details of their production process from any official sources. At the time of writing, their official website seems to be abandoned or out of service, and other credible sources did not go into much detail.
Bottle Specs
❖ ABV: 40%
❖ Distillery: Geijer Spirits
❖ Aging: N/A
❖ Price Point: moderate
My Tasting notes
As I began to smell this liqueur, the aroma was sweet, with a balance of warm and clean qualities.
I took a sip, and I could taste the classic bitter seville orange flavor that I’ve come to expect, combined with a warm flavor like vanilla. The mouthfeel was tingly, with a sense of brightness that radiated throughout the mouth. There was a bit of heat in the throat, but it didn’t carry a burn.
Cocktail
For my cocktail, I wanted to create a simple Cointreau Fizz variation that swaps out lime juice for lemon juice, so I could really see how this liqueur compares!
Cali Fizz
❖ 2oz orange liqueur
❖ 1oz lemon juice
❖ 3oz soda water
❖ garnish: orange wedge
- Add the orange liqueur and lemon juice to a mixing glass with ice, and stir until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a small glass.
- Top with 3oz of soda water.
- Garnish with an orange wedge if desired.
Inside of a cocktail, I found that the bitter orange flavor mainly blended in with the mixers, and was overpowered by the notes of vanilla. Although I’m not opposed to vanilla as a flavor, I didn’t find the way it affected the cocktail to be particularly valuable or interesting. It distracted from the otherwise pleasant orange notes, without adding much character. Still, the liqueur was smooth and reasonably enjoyable inside of a drink.
Bottom Line
RATING: 3/5
Overall, I had mixed feelings about this bottle of Geijer California Orange Liqueur. Although I was excited to try out something local to my home state, I ended up being a little bit bored by it. It simply didn’t stand out or hold it’s own enough to justify the price.
While the orange flavor was decent, the addition of vanilla was ultimately a bit puzzling. In a world where so many low quality spirits try to cover up their flaws with a heavy dosage of vanilla flavoring, I think it’s natural for many consumers to subconsciously associate the flavor with cheap alcohol. Unless, of course, there are other more interesting flavors at play to balance it out. Since Geijer Orange had a very straightforward and consistent flavor, I couldn’t help but feel like the vanilla cheapened it. Not only that, but it makes the liqueur less versatile for cocktails that call for triple sec or other orange liqueurs, as the vanilla notes may work with some recipes and not others.
That said, I still was able to enjoy my drink, as Geijer is smooth, and blends in well enough against mixers. At the end of the day, I can think of several other choices in this price range that I would suggest over Geijer California Orange Liqueur. I cannot recommend it at this time.
As always, drink responsibly.
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