FASHION Magazine

Burlesque beauty Dita Von Teese is the latest star to ask “Voulez-vous Cointreau avec moi?” and we’re guessing no one will pass up the invitation. Named the face of the French liqueur legend last year, Von Teese has created a new cocktail, called, naturally, the Cointreau Teese, which combines sweet violet syrup with lemon and apple juices and the historic brand’s orange liqueur to create one velvety purple concoction (get the recipe here). FASHION’s Leah Rumack sat down with the femme fatale in New York before her Swarovski-encrusted “Be Cointreauversial” performance and the unveiling of her new signature tipple.

I wanted to ask you a little bit about some of the ingredients you chose. Why violet in particular?

“I’m sort of obsessed with the violet and the scent of violet and I just brought it up when they asked what I liked the fragrance of. I don’t think a lot of people get the opportunity to taste violet, so I wanted to make something really sophisticated and glamorous, and to me I think it is the ultimate glamorous cocktail.”

“It just worked. The mixologists know what they are doing when it comes to the mixing things and making them work. I tried a lot of different things and that one was just the one that was the most delicious.”

So, you’re now the new face of Cointreau, I’m sure you must be inundated with it. How many bottles do you have now?

“Yes. I have a lot, but the good news is I always want more because I’ve gotten really good at mixing my Cointreau Teese, which is really great because everyone loves it. I have cocktail parties and everyone’s like, “Make those Cointreau Teeses!” So I have a lot of [bottles]. I like to stockpile and give them as gifts.” 

“Well I thought about the mystery, like, what is Cointreau exactly?  It was kind of mysterious sitting up there in its beautiful amber colored bottle.  I didn’t really know what it was, so I immediately wanted to know all about it. I was really excited to learn about the history—they’re 160 years old. I liked looking at all the vintage ads and that’s sort of how I developed the show. I just wanted to take little touches of the vintage ad campaigns and the art work from the past and work it into my show. I was really excited because I have been approached by other liquor brands and it was never really right; it was always sort of cheesy. No one ever had a very sophisticated approach until Cointreau. They had this whole idea of their “Be Cointreauversial” and how I fit into that, obviously.”

For some of Dita’s favourite things, see the September issue of FASHION Magazine.

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