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The Distillation Process

The distillation process

The Laraha plantation

Now that you know everything about our unique Laraha orange, it's time to learn more about the distillation process of the Genuine Curacao Liqueur. Distilling our world-famous liqueur is a craft that we have mastered in every step of the way; from the moment we harvest our unique Laraha oranges, till the pouring of the liqueur in our exclusive bottles.

The first step is taken at the Laraha plantation, which is located in the Eastern part of Curacao. Each Laraha tree in the plantation produces between 150 to 200 fruits, which result in 25 to 35 kilograms (55 to 77 pounds) of dried peels. The trees are harvested twice a year, but the harvesting is not as simple as you would think. The Laraha trees are 3 meters (9 feet) talll and taking one fruit requires a special technique.

Taking the fruit

When the Laraha orange is green, right before ripening, our farmers take a tall ladder to take the fruit from the trees. Each Laraha orange is pulled with a piece of the sprig of the tree. This is because pulling only the fruit would cause the knot to dry up and make it impossible to yield more fruit.

Cutting the Laraha orange

We hand-cut the peel of each Laraha orange into 4 sections, which are roughly triangular. In the past we used a wooden knife to avoid staining the peels.

Drying the Laraha peels

After cutting the fruit, the Laraha peels are then dried in sunlight for 5 days. This is done on a large concrete floor. Under no circumstance can the peels become wet, so great care must be taken to cover the peels at night or if it's raining.

The distillation & bottling process

The distillation & bottling process is completely done by hand and takes about 17 days. The peels are put in a gunny bag, spices are added and then hung in a heated copper still with 250 liters (66 gallons) of 96% pure and Kosher alcohol (derived from sugar cane) for 3 days at 150 degrees Celsius (302 Fahrenheit).

After 1-day cooling, the gunny bags are removed from the kettle, water is added, and distillation takes place for another 3 days at a constant temperature of 250 degrees Celsius (482 Fahrenheit).

Filtering

With 1 distillation, 208 liters (55 gallons) of distillate are produced. Then, we add 400 kg (828 pounds) of sugar and more water. The product is then filtered for 3 days to produce the clear Curaçao liqueur. To create our colored liqueurs we add certified coloring.

Final product

To create our colored liqueurs, like the orange version and the world-famous Blue Curaçao Liqueur, we add certified coloring. The last step is to fill the bottles, label and seal them with much care and love.

Laraha Bottle