Mr. Boston Liqueurs

For anyone who wanted to start out their own bar, one of the cheapest ways to go is to reach for the Mr. Boston brand of liqueurs and liquors. They have a whole set of 1 liter bottles, each for about 5$, encompassing all of your major liqueurs that you might need in your bartending collection. Creme de menthe (white and green), creme de cacao, butterscotch schnapps, etc..., etc.... Now i know that everyone hates Mr. Boston, and i know that everyone especially hates the self-serving wording that is contained in every single printing of Mr. Boston's bartending guide. However, i really think it's not that bad, and i wanted to point out some interesting comparisons to be made - the main one coming from Tastings.com.

Tastings.com, of course, is that tasting website where they allegedly train their tasters, put them in a colorless, soundproof room, and make them taste new alcohols at the same time each day. Look at their ratings of a variety of triple secs - including one that comes from Mr. Boston:

Mr. Boston Triple Sec: 87
Blanks Triple Sec: 86
Hiram Walker Triple Sec: 86
Cointreau: 88
Grand Marnier (wine enthusiast): 89

Of course, as you might note - i have not included Patron Citronge (a new triple sec), and also the Grand Marnier rating is not from Tastings, but from Wine Enthusiast - which gives not altogether different ratings than Tastings (it's on the same 100 pt scale). However, you can see that Tastings gives Mr. Boston an 87 and Cointreau an 88. Also note that Grand Marnier and Cointreau are essentially on a par with one another (though not equivalent). They're both respected liqueurs, and have many who enjoy each of them. So, it's interesting to see that Mr. Boston is in some sense, playing on the same field as Cointreau and Grand Marnier!

This, of course, in some sense, is obviously not correct. Cointreau, Grand Marnier and Mr. Boston are all very different liqueurs. Cointreau and Grand Marnier are quite potent in terms of alcohol, while Mr. Boston is not. Cointreau and Mr. Boston are based on neutral grain spirits while Grand Marnier is brandy-based (i hear?). Cointreau and Grand Marnier are bursting with orange flavor, while Mr. Boston is kinda like Kool-aid.

That said, note their review of Cointreau and Mr. Boston: (their review of Grand Marnier is suspiciously absent. hmmm).

Cointreau:
Clear. Orange gelatin candy and spicy orange zest cake aromas. A silky entry leads to a sweet and tart medium-full body of vibrant candied tangerine skin, rock candy, and pick peppercorn flavors. Finishes with a long, peppery alcohol and orange zest fade. A powerful orange liqueur that packs a punch.

Mr. Boston:
Clear with a very faint silver pink cast. Sweet candied tangerine peel aromas. A soft brisk entry leads to a buoyant off-dry light-to-medium body of orange and vanilla candy flavors with a clean, sweet fruity fade. Nicely balanced and clean.

Sounds like some really nice reviews for both of them. Most of it is bullshit. (orange gelatin candy, as opposed to orange candy?? where do they make this stuff up?). Of course, that said, they obviously work very differently in a drink. But, i did want to point out that even Tastings.com isn't poo-pooing Mr. Boston's. And so you shouldn't poo-poo them either! They make a quality product - and for a vast majority of their liqueurs, they work perfectly fine in a drink - although you'll have to adjust proportions to your liking.