The important stuff!!

One thing I’ve learned after over 4 decades of visiting Curaçao, no matter how much shipping costs, they will make sure the booze gets here!! Bottles are heavy, so expensive to ship, and they don’t make any on the island, so, this might be the one set of items that costs more than home.

Wine: Stores like Bottles and The Wine Factory have incredible selections of wine and even have other alcohols. You can also find tons of wines, including some tasty cheapies in almost every grocery store on the island. Prices will be slightly higher than home for some, but others will be the same price as home. There may be some wines not available in Canada that are quite inexpensive and good as well.

Liquor: This can really run the gamut in terms of pricing. You can find pretty much every imaginable liquor at a huge array of price points. Super top notch North American or European bottles may be a bit pricier than home, but the “common” ones (like Bacardi rum, for instance) will be similar price. There are also some South American or Caribbean bottles that are delicious and quite inexpensive.

Beer: This pains me to say, but beer might be the worst value of any item I routinely purchase in Curaçao. A 24 pack of 235ml beers (in Canada, ours are 355ml) can be as much as $60CAD in grocery stores. Thankfully there are tons of great beers.

My fave is Polar. Amstel, Amstel Bright, Brasa, Zulia, and Presidente are other popular beers on the island.

I often get asked if there are micro-brew type beers, etc, and I ‘ happy to report that the micro-brew scene is really evolving. There are now a few options for micro-brew lovers;

• Tiki Mas Serbes; They have an assortment of hoppy stouts, ales and sours. Available in a couple of grocery stores, some local restaurants, and in their shop.
• The Swinging Old Lady Brewery; This excellent restaurant and brewery is conveniently located in Otrobanda, right on the waterfront. They offer eight different micro-brews. Awesome place.
• Montana Bierhuis: Another good option with six beers available. Available in some grocery stores and several restaurants.

Currently, the two cheapest beers on the island are St Omers and Zulia. St Omers is a Blond, and Zulia is a light lager which sells at 53NAF for twenty four, 250ml bottles. It’s about 15% cheaper than most other options.

Note: There is a very nice Duty Free shop right when you land at the Curaçao airport. Unless you are seeking an extremely TOP SHELF item, you will find almost everything at local grocery stores or the other shops listed at better prices.

Pro Tip: bring a bottle opener, the drunker you get, the more you forget they aren’t twist off caps. I have wounds!