Indulgences

1. Serbes

   Beer

   Usage

   Beer. ⚠ Aruba and Curaçao are constituent countries and Bonaire is a Dutch special municipality, so age limits and sales rules for alcohol are set separately on each island. Check locally

   Grammar Note

   Comes from Spanish "cerveza", Portuguese "cerveja" and Kabuverdianu "serveja". ⚠ Do not simply write the Spanish "cerveza". Papiamentu spells what is heard: "serbes" — b not v, and -es not -eza

2. Balashi

   Balashi (Aruba's local beer)

   Usage

   A brand of Aruban beer, brewed by Brouwerij Nacional Balashi at its plant in Balashi, the first beer made in Aruba and exported to Curaçao and Bonaire. Variants: Balashi (blond, 5% alcohol), Balashi Chill (5%) and Balashi Light (lower alcohol). ⚠ Age limits and sales rules for alcohol differ by island jurisdiction; check locally

   Grammar Note

   Balashi is a place in Aruba; the desalination plant there carries the same name. ⚠ Arubans nickname their tap water the "Balashi Cocktail", but that is plain water, not a drink

3. Ròm

   Rum

   Usage

   Rum is a spirit distilled from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or straight from the cane juice, and a standard ingredient in tropical cocktails. The market splits it into ròm skur (dark) and ròm blanku (white), though colour alone can mislead, since it may come from the production technique rather than the ageing

   Grammar Note

   The grave accent in the Curaçao orthography marks the open /ɔ/. ⚠ Do not fall back on the English spelling "rum" — the Curaçao spelling is "ròm"

4. Curaçao Likeur

   Curaçao Likeur (Blue Curaçao)

   Usage

   A world-famous liqueur made from laraha, the bitter citrus naturalised on Curaçao whose Latin name Citrus Aurantium Currassuviensis means "golden orange of Curaçao". Used mainly in cocktails and martinis; the blue version is popular for its colour. ⚠ Despite the name, more of it is produced and drunk outside Curaçao (chiefly in the Netherlands) than on the island, and the versions made elsewhere no longer use laraha but ordinary oranges (apelsina). For the authentic one on the island, look for Senior & Co, whose distillery is at Landhuis Chobolobo

   Grammar Note

   The island is Kòrsou in Papiamentu; the bottle label says Curaçao. likeur comes from Dutch; likùr is another form.

5. Ponche krema

   Ponche krema (egg and rum cream liqueur)

   Usage

   A rich cream liqueur of egg yolk, cream, rum and spices, close to eggnog, and a fixture of Christmas (Pasco). On Curaçao, J.A.J. Sprock N.V. — founded 1929, based on Werfstraat in Scharloo — makes it as Ponche Kuba and exports it to Europe and around the Caribbean. ⚠ Alcohol rules differ by island jurisdiction; check locally

   Grammar Note

   Curaçao writes ponche krema, as in "Ponche Kuba, un ponche krema"; Aruba writes ponche crema. Both spellings circulate; follow the bottle label.

6. Cucui

   Cucui (traditional agave liqueur)

   Usage

   A traditional Aruban liqueur of indigenous origin, made from the leaves of Agave sisalana, known locally as cucuisa. It has a light anise flavour and a distinctive deep red colour. The white lower part of the leaf is fermented with white rum or cane sugar, a technique handed down within families. It fell out of use in the twentieth century and revived in the late 1950s with the growth of tourism. It is the base of Aruba's signature cocktail, the Aruba Ariba

   Grammar Note

   Both Cucui and Coecoei occur, also written "Cucui òf Coecoei". Coecoei is the older Dutch-style product spelling. You will see both in Aruban shops.

7. Tabaku

   Tobacco

   Usage

   tabaku (also tabako) means "tobacco". tabaku is grown on the islands’ smallholdings (kunuku) alongside sentebibu (aloe), maishi (maize), aros (rice) and pinda (peanuts). This is the plant and the raw leaf; a cigarette is "sigaria"

   Grammar Note

   Both tabako and tabaku occur; tabaku has the Curaçao -u ending.

8. Sigaria

   Cigarette

   Usage

   sigaria means "cigarette". A smuggling (contrabanda) example: "sigaria, alcohol, paña". ⚠ Indoor smoking rules also differ by island jurisdiction; follow the signs in shops and restaurants

   Grammar Note

   ⚠ Do not substitute Spanish "cigarrillo" or Dutch "sigaret". The Papiamentu form is "sigaria". Note also that "pijp" is not a smoking pipe here — it means a drinking straw

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