True blue? Curacao liqueur reveals its true color

The brilliant hue of the drink is synthetic, added to evoke the tint of the Caribbean waters surrounding the eponymous Dutch island, the smallest country to qualify for this year's World Cup.

Curacao, which is flavored with orange peel, has been manufactured in the nation of 185,000 inhabitants for more than a century.

"Most people know it as Blue Curacao but the original Curacao liqueur was never blue to start with. It is clear," Genesis Riley, a 39-year-old guide at the Senior distillery told AFP.

"But we do have a blue version that inspires the rest of the world," she added.

The drink gained worldwide renown in the 1960s after featuring in the romantic comedy Blue Hawaii, starring singer Elvis Presley as an ex-soldier trying to dodge being drafted into the family pineapple business.

Because Curacao is the name of a territory, Senior cannot patent the liqueur, which is produced around the world.

Initially more popular in Europe, Blue Curacao has also been adopted in the Caribbean, Riley said.

Senior also produces colorless, red, green and yellow curacao but the thirst for these is dwarfed by demand for the blue variety.

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