Shortly after the conquest of the island in 1499, the Spaniards planned for the agricultural development of Curacao. One of the plants they carried with care on their long sea voyages from Spain was the so-called “Valencia” orange. Historical records show that someone named Pérez Maestre brought the first seeds from Hispaniola in 1527. When the Dutch arrived they found small groves in some areas of the island. The sizzling sun and arid climate, however, were too much for the colorful sweet oranges, and this once juicy fruit then turned into a kind of bitter, almost inedible product.

The project was forgotten and the "misfits" of the once proud Valencia oranges grew wild and abandoned. Not even our infamous goats would touch them. But this was a blessing in disguise because decades later (the exact date is lost in history), planters discovered that the peels of this unique Laraha orange, thoroughly dried by the sun, contained etheric oils with an extraordinary pleasing fragrance. In order to not let crops go to waste they started developing their own recipe to share with friends and family. The unique Laraha orange had found a new purpose. 

When speaking of an official Curacao Liqueur, the liqueur has to be made with the dried peels of the unique Laraha orange.  To this day, Senior & Co. is the only brand in the world that uses the dried peels of the unique Laraha orange to produce a Curacao Liqueur.

For a Curacao Liqueur to be named "Curacao" it does not have to be distilled on our island, unlike other drinks such as Champagne or Tequila, but we are proud of our island and proud to be the only Curacao of Curacao.