THE BURNING SUN AND THE DRY CLIMATE OF CURAÇAO
Shortly after conquering the island in 1499, the Spanish planned the agricultural development of Curaçao. One of the plants they carefully brought back from Spain during their long sea voyages 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 orchards in some parts of the island. However, the scorching sun and dry climate were too much for the colorful sweet oranges, turning this once juicy fruit into a kind of bitter, almost inedible product.
The project was forgotten and the "misfits" of the once proud Valencia oranges grew wild and were abandoned. Even our infamous goats wouldn't touch them. But this was a blessing in disguise, because decades later (the exact date is lost to history) planters discovered that the peels of this unique Laraha orange, thoroughly dried by the sun, contained essential oils with an extremely pleasant smell. In order not to let the 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.
THE GOLDEN ORANGE OF CURAÇAO
By then, the stepchild of the Valencia orange had acquired its own Latin botanical name, Citrus Aurantium Currassuviensis, meaning "Golden Orange of Curacao." Simply called Laraha in the local language.
It is rumored that the name of the unique Laraha orange comes from the Arabic word Naranj, which means orange. It is believed that the Spanish picked up this term during the Arab invasion. The Laraha tree is our hero and the reason why it is represented in our logo and why our bottle is shaped like an orange.
THE DRIED PEELS OF THE UNIQUE LARAHA ORANGE
When talking about an official Curacao liqueur, the liqueur must be made with the dried peels of the unique Laraha orange. To date, Senior & Co. 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 bear the name "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 Curacao's only Curacao .
