GOLD MEDAL 90 points The Beverage Tasting Institute

Our American Orange Liqueur is a spirit that we pot distill using two types of citrus peels: Curaçao (Citrus aurantium currassuviencis) and Bergamot (Citrus aurantium bergamia).

Curaçao oranges, which are now primarily grown in Haiti, were once lovely Valencia oranges grown in the fertile soil of Spain. These orange plants were brought to the Caribbean by Spanish explorers, and planted on a few islands south of Florida. The climate was not suitable for Valencia oranges, so all that would grow were stunted trees that yielded small greenish oranges that were horribly bitter. Eventually, an enterprising Spanish family turned this botanical failure into the joy of every bartender by using the peel of these oranges to add aroma to their distilled liqueurs, discarding the flesh of the orange as a useless food stock.

Bergamot is grown primarily on the coast of Calabria, Italy (the toe of Italy’s boot). It is similar in color to lemons and, like the Curaçao Orange, it has notoriously bitter flesh. Its peel has been used for centuries in the perfume industry, but its primary use is in Earl Grey tea, lending the tea a complex and refreshingly bright citrus aroma.

We steep both the Curaçao and the Bergamot in spirit, then carefully distill it in our small copper pot still, separating the clean citrus aromas from the bitterness that is inherent in citrus pith. We then rest the resulting distillate in glass carboys, which softens the flavors and relaxes the mouthfeel.

The finished distillate is blended with cane sugar, Belgian candy sugar, and agave to give the spirit a relatively dry finish.   The candy sugar gives it a bit of a confectioner’s finish, giving legs to the spirit when put in a tasting glass.

When used in classic cocktails, the aroma of our American Orange Liqueur simply pops, lending a bright depth of flavor and aroma that you won’t find in any other orange liqueur in the world.