I made an impulse purchase this weekend. For $24.99, I took home a bottle of Curaçao de Curaçao from the Austin Wine Merchant. The brand is Senior.

I made a version of the classic cocktail, the White Lady, replacing the Cointreau with the Blue Curaçao.
1 1/2 oz of Gin, 3/4 oz of Lemon Juice, 1 oz of Blue Curaçao, shaken, served up with a twist. I thought it was very tasty.
Curaçao is one of the older fruit-essence liqueurs, made from the peels of bitter oranges from Curaçao, hence the name. To get this color, it's not just from the peels, but FD&C Blue No. 1.

A frame of reference. Coloring alcohol is nothing new. Herbsaint, a key ingredient in many a bartender's version of the classic Sazerac cocktail has FD&C Yellow No. 5 and many fine Cognac use caramel to color. It's true.

Anthony Garcia
www.wineisdivine.com