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A Traditional Liqueur

By Jane Ammeson

For centuries, Curaçaoans picked the laraha—dark green oranges with a yellow pulp and a bitter after taste—to make an orange-flavored liqueur named after the island. To do so, they would peel the laraha with wooden knives (metal ones are believed to damage the skins) and then leave the skins out in the hot Caribbean sun for several days. As the peels dried, the oil in the rinds became more concentrated and aromatic, making it the perfect ingredient for processing—along with alcohol, water and other spices—the clear-colored Curacao liqueur. And as with many recipes handed down through the generations, the families on this island had their own secret formulas for creating Curacao.

In 1896, the Senior family became the first of the islanders to market their homemade liqueur. They originally did so from their home and later as their business grew, from the 17th-century Landhuis (land house) Chobolobo.

Inside the land house, a yellow building with green shutters surrounded by palm and laraha trees, the copper still that the Senior family imported from Philadelphia more than 100 years ago still refines the sweet-tasting liqueur. Outside, as they did more than a century ago, workers pick and peel the oranges by hand, one of the only Curacao liqueur makers to do so.

Island legend has it that laraha are the dark offspring of the Valencia oranges brought to Curaçao by Spanish sailors in the 1500s. The island's arid climate made the oranges shrink and become bitter to the point of being inedible.

Because Senior & Company follows the traditional way of making Curacao, they have received the right to label their liqueur as both original and authentic. Indeed, the only thing to have changed in all these years is the addition of bright tropical colors such as blue, green and orange, along with the traditional clear. But no matter the color, the flavor of Curacao remains the same.

Visitors can tour Landhuis Chobolobo Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Call 461-3526 or visit the website at curacaoliqueur.com.

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