Discovering Paradise
Discovering Paradise
Home of the original blue Curaçao liqueur
Type
Distillery
Location
Landhuis Chobolobo, Willemstad
Entrance Fee
Courtyard and shop generally free; tours and tastings may cost extra
Hours
Weekday and some weekend hours; daytime tours
Duration
45 minutes to 1 hour
Best Time
Morning, when cooler and quieter
Difficulty
Easy
Established
Landhuis Chobolobo (19th-century estate)
Guided Tours
Available
Parking
Available
Accessibility
Historic landhuis with mostly flat courtyard; some steps inside
Landhuis Chobolobo is the home of the genuine Curaçao liqueur, the bright-blue spirit that carries the island's name around the world. Housed in a 19th-century landhuis (plantation house) in Willemstad, this is where the original recipe is still distilled today, using the dried peel of the Laraha, a bitter orange that descended from sweet Valencia trees brought by the Spanish and which adapted to Curaçao's dry, salty soil.
The peels are sun-dried until aromatic, then steeped and distilled to draw out their fragrant oils, and the liqueur is the result. Despite the famous electric-blue colour, the spirit is clear; the blue (and the orange, green, and red versions) comes from added colouring, while the flavour is the same bright, bittersweet orange. Seeing the copper still and the racks of drying peel makes the link between the fruit and the bottle vivid.
A visit takes in the historic landhuis, the small distillery and its copper apparatus, and a tasting bar where you can sample the range, from the classic blue to coffee, chocolate, and rum-raisin variations, and pick up bottles to take home. It is a relaxed, self-guided or lightly guided experience rather than a grand industrial tour.
Go in the morning when it is cooler, taste before you buy to find your favourite, and remember that only liqueur made here can truly claim the island's name and that signature Laraha-orange flavour.
Yes. The original Curaçao liqueur is still produced at Landhuis Chobolobo in Willemstad, distilled from the dried peel of the Laraha, a bitter orange that adapted to the island's dry soil. You can see the copper still and drying peel on a visit.
The famous electric-blue colour is added; the spirit itself is clear. The flavour comes from the Laraha orange peel, and the same liqueur is also sold in orange, green, and red versions, all tasting of bright, bittersweet orange.
Yes. A visit takes in the historic landhuis and small distillery and ends at a tasting bar, where you can sample the range, from classic blue to coffee, chocolate, and rum-raisin variations, and buy bottles to take home.