The world famous Blue Curacao liqueur is an aromatic drink of an unusual blue color with a rich orange flavor. Almost in any bar in the world you can find cocktails prepared on its basis.
The history of the creation of "blue liqueur"
The liquor was named "after" the eponymous island of Curacao, located among the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. The island is still home to world-famous orange plantations, where a special sort of oranges with a bitter taste are grown. This variety is called Aurantium Currassuviensis.
In the distant 18th century, several orange plantations were acquired by the De Capeira family, which at that time contained a company for the production of alcoholic beverages. The head of the family, inspired by the extraordinary aroma of bitter orange, tried to make an orange liqueur and got a “semi-finished product” of the drink, which is now known as Curacao liqueur.
To distinguish their creation from other similar orange-flavored drinks, the liquor, which was originally transparent, was changed color and given a slightly different taste with the help of spices. There are now green, white and orange versions of the liqueur, but Blue Curaçao blue is the most popular.
What is Blue Curacao liqueur made of and what causes its unusual color?
The famous blue liqueur is made from wine alcohol, infused with dried peel of bitter oranges mixed with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. The original strength of the drink is 30%, but now there are also 20% variations.
True Blue Curaçao has a characteristic blue color thanks to a natural colorant - anthocyanin. This is an extract from blue-violet plants. Most of all anthocyanins are found in black currants, black grapes, eggplants, cauliflower, blueberries, basil, violets. The extract from these plants is made in a special way and added to the liquor.
Although, of course, the exact name of the plant, thanks to which the Blue Curacao liqueur is blue, is kept secret. Chemists believe that, most likely, not one, but a whole combination of plants with the most suitable color is used to give the blue color to the liquor.
There are recipes that keep the secrets of making blue liqueur with the addition of indigo, a rare mineral that was dissolved in vitriol to obtain the desired deep blue color. But now this method is not used.
Other manufacturers of Blue Curacao manage in simpler and more affordable ways: they use artificial food colors E 131, E 132 (Blue patented) and E133 (Blue shiny FCF).
