Carafes and Orange Bitter

A carafe is an earthenware or metal or glass container for liquids, it has a narrowed top so that it can be closed with a cork or stopper.

Carafes were already used in ancient Greece to store wine and oil.

A carafe often has a glaze layer to prevent evaporation of the contents.

In the Netherlands, carafes have mainly become known as packaging material for Jenever(Dutch Gin) and various liqueurs. In the past, the water in the cities was not drinkable and wealthy people supplied themselves with water stored in stone carafes that were thrown away when empty.

A handy businessman collected these and filled them with gin and stuck a label on them. This was the now famous Lucas Bols.

The oldest House of Orange carafe in our collection is a large wine carafe decorated with the crowned coat of arms of King Willem III and Queen Emma, probably made in honour of their wedding in 1879.

In 1898, the Leerdam Glass Factory came with a special glass gin carafe as a souvenir of the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina.

After this, it became a typical Dutch tradition for distilleries to market their jenever or Orange bitter/liqueur in a specially designed jug for a royal event.

These carafes were often made to order by well-known pottery factories such as Zuid Holland and Schoonhoven.

Carafes have also been made for the anniversaries of Queen Wilhelmina, events from the life of Queen Juliana, births of Princesses, etc.

The origin of Oranjebitter is not really known.

But it is a drink made from curaçao peel (peel of sour oranges) and brandy. When sugar is added it becomes Orange liqueur.

The story goes that Orange liqueur was developed after 1620 in honour of the battles won by Prince Frederik Hendrik, son of Prince William of Orange.

After this, the drink fell into oblivion and when King William Ist became the first House of Orange King, it came back onto the market, but without sugar, which gave it a bitter taste, hence the name Oranjebitter.

Since the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina, the tradition of drinking a glass of Orange bitter or liqueur at a Royal occasion has grown.

Below are some examples of House of Orange carafes from our collection.

Info from:

1) Carafe made by A.van Wees Distillery de Ooievaar to commemorate the birth of princess Catharina Amalia  in 2003