Blue Curaçao Distillery Tour

The bright-blue liqueur the world calls Curaçao is made here, and it is still made at Landhuis Chobolobo, a handsome Dutch plantation house in Willemstad. A visit is part history, part distillery, part tasting, and it explains the drink that put the island on cocktail menus everywhere.

The flavour comes from the Laraha, a bitter orange that early settlers planted on Curaçao; the fruit turned inedible in the dry soil, but its fragrant dried peel makes a superb liqueur. On the tour you see the peel drying, the small copper still, and the bottling, then learn that the famous electric-blue colour is added, since the spirit itself is clear. The liqueur also comes in orange, green, and red, all tasting of the same bittersweet orange.

The visit

• A short guided walk through the historic landhuis and the distillery.
• A tasting bar where you sample the range, from classic blue to coffee, chocolate, and rum-raisin variations.
• A shop for bottles to take home, plus a cafe in the courtyard.

The site is an easy add-on to time in central Willemstad and a guided food walk. Go in the morning for cooler weather, and remember the tasting includes alcohol, so plan your transport.