Orange Curaçao
Orange curaçao is a liqueur flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha, a bitter orange grown on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. Our drinks take a dry curaçao at 40% ABV in small measures, where it seasons a rum or brandy drink with bitter orange more than it sweetens it. The Mai Tai, the El Presidente and the Pegu Club all call for it.
Quick Facts
Store in a cool, dark place. In our experience refrigeration is optional after opening, though it helps long-term freshness. Reseal tightly to preserve aromatics.
None of the 14 listed allergens. Recipes vary by brand: check the bottle.
About Orange Curaçao
Flavour Profile
Primary Flavours
Tasting Notes
Dry orange aroma with bitter citrus peel, subtle sweetness, and gentle spice. More structured and less sweet than most Triple Secs.
The orange is a bitter fruit from one island
Curaçao the liqueur is named after Curaçao the island. Spaniards brought Valencia oranges there, with the first seeds arriving in 1527; on the island the trees gave a fruit too bitter to eat, the laraha, whose peel is strongly aromatic. Dried and steeped in spirit, that peel is the flavour of the liqueur. Senior & Co, on the island, makes curaçao from it in a copper still from 1896.
Most curaçao sold today is made elsewhere, from bitter orange peel more generally. What matters in a drink is whether the bottle is dry or sweet.
Dry curaçao is the style our recipes assume
Every line in our recipes takes it at about 40% ABV. Ferrand Dry Curaçao was made at the challenge of the historian David Wondrich, its maker says, from laraha peel infused in grape eau-de-vie, distilled, and macerated in eau-de-vie and cognac. A sweet curaçao or a triple sec will stand in, at a cost in weight or sugar.
Dry curaçao, sweet curaçao and triple sec at 15ml (Cointreau’s strength from its own site; the other strengths from Difford’s Guide’s listings; the rest is ours)
Strength
- Dry orange curaçao
- Ferrand Dry Curaçao 40%
- Sweet orange curaçao
- Giffard 25%; Bols Orange Curaçao 21%
- Triple sec
- Cointreau 40%
Colour
- Dry orange curaçao
- Amber
- Sweet orange curaçao
- Amber or orange
- Triple sec
- Clear
Taste
- Dry orange curaçao
- Bitter peel, some spice
- Sweet orange curaçao
- Sweet orange
- Triple sec
- Bright, clean orange
At 15ml in a rum drink
- Dry orange curaçao
- Seasons with bitter orange
- Sweet orange curaçao
- Adds noticeable sugar
- Triple sec
- Adds sugar and a lighter orange
| Dry orange curaçao | Sweet orange curaçao | Triple sec | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | Ferrand Dry Curaçao 40% | Giffard 25%; Bols Orange Curaçao 21% | Cointreau 40% |
| Colour | Amber | Amber or orange | Clear |
| Taste | Bitter peel, some spice | Sweet orange | Bright, clean orange |
| At 15ml in a rum drink | Seasons with bitter orange | Adds noticeable sugar | Adds sugar and a lighter orange |
It seasons rum, brandy and whiskey drinks
In the Mai Tai it is 15ml against 60ml of rum, lime and orgeat. In the El Presidente 10ml sits with white rum, dry vermouth and grenadine, and in the Brandy Crusta a bar spoon is enough. The Pegu Club goes further, at 22.5ml with gin and lime, where it is the drink's only sweetener.
The Tia Mia, the Knickerbocker and the Seelbach use it the same way: a small pour that adds bitter orange and body without making the drink taste of sugar.
Using Orange Curaçao
Usage
From a bar spoon to 22.5ml in our recipes: one spoon in the Brandy Crusta, 10ml in the El Presidente, 15ml in the Mai Tai and the Seelbach, 22.5ml in the Pegu Club. Under 15ml it seasons; at 22.5ml in the Pegu Club it is the only sweetener.
Pro Tip
Taste a new bottle neat from a spoon before it goes into a Mai Tai. If the finish is bitter orange, pour it as written; if it is mostly sugar, cut the orgeat or syrup by 2.5ml to keep the drink dry.
Top Tips
- Look for "dry" on the label. Our recipes assume a dry curaçao at about 40%; a sweet one at 25% needs a smaller pour.
- Measure the small pours with a 5ml spoon. At a bar spoon, an extra few millilitres is a large share of the drink's orange.
- Triple sec is the nearest swap. It is brighter and usually sweeter, so pour a few millilitres less.
- Blue curaçao tastes much the same but will colour the drink. Keep it for drinks that want the colour.
Possible Substitutions
- Triple Sec: Sweeter and less bitter
Production Method
Produced by macerating dried bitter orange peels in spirit, then distilling and blending with sugar and, in some cases, aged brandy or Cognac.
History & Context
Senior & Co’s own site says the Spaniards planted the Valencia orange on Curaçao, that a man named Pérez Maestre brought the first seeds from Hispaniola in 1527, and that in the island’s sun and arid climate the fruit turned bitter and almost inedible, the laraha. The Oxford Companion, a secondary source, calls the laraha a bitter offshoot of the Seville orange and says Senior has been the island’s only commercial producer since 1945, using real laraha peels; Senior’s own site says its liqueur is distilled in a copper still from 1896.
More to explore
Common Questions
What is orange curaçao?
Is orange curaçao the same as triple sec?
What is dry curaçao?
Which orange liqueur goes in a Mai Tai?
Can I use blue curaçao instead of orange curaçao?
How strong is orange curaçao?
Does orange curaçao need to be refrigerated after opening?
Sources.
Checked between 16 October and 19 October 2026.
- The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (David Wondrich), “curaçao (sometimes spelled curaçoa)” (secondary source: originally a liqueur of dried laraha peel, a bitter offshoot of the Seville orange native to Curaçao; Senior, the island’s only commercial producer since 1945, uses real laraha peels).
- Maison Ferrand, “Ferrand Dry Curaçao” (producer’s page).
- Cointreau, “Cointreau Triple Sec” (producer’s page (40% Alc./Vol.)).
- Senior & Co, “The Unique Laraha Orange” (producer’s page: Valencia orange seeds from Hispaniola in 1527, turned bitter on the island).
- Senior & Co, “Senior Curaçao Liqueur” (producer’s home page: distilled in a copper still from 1896).
- Difford’s Guide, “Orange Curaçao liqueurs” (secondary source: listed strengths Ferrand Dry Curaçao 40, Edmond Briottet 35, Giffard 25, Bols Orange Curaçao 21).
Made with Orange Curaçao
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Updated 19 October 2026