The carob may not be the most attractive tree in Monaco, but for over 2,000 years, it has provided sustenance to the Monegasque. The fruit of the tree, naturally sweet and somewhat nutty, has historically been used as animal feed or ground into flour. Carobs are also the source of the modern-day carat system, as they were once used to measure precious stones. Carob seeds weigh an average of 200 milligrams, and their relatively uniform weight made them useful for ancient traders, who would compare the weight of a diamond to a carob seed.
Today, the ancient botanical has found new life in the unexpected form of a unique liqueur: Carruba.
Philip Culazzo opened La Distillerie de Monaco, the principality’s first (and only) distillery, in 2017. The humble carob wasn’t on his mind at all—instead, he was focused on citrus. Each year, the Monegasque government harvests citrus fruit by the ton, and most of it goes to waste. “When I learned about how much was going to waste each year, I wanted to do something about it,” Culazzo tells Observer on a recent visit to the distillery. “At the time, Monaco didn’t really have any products that were uniquely theirs, so when I asked the government if I could have some of their bitter oranges, they were more than happy to give me as many as I wanted.”
As in many places within the tiny principality, the distillery is tucked away around a corner in the La Condamine neighborhood. The still is a shiny, towering copper construction, tucked away to one side. It’s very much in use, and is often surrounded by plastic buckets to catch the drops of alcohol that flow straight from the tubing. On distilling days, the space smells distinctly of fruit and botanicals, thanks to the crates of fresh citrus that line the floor—lemons, limes and grapefruits—and pots full of woody lemon thyme.
Culazzo’s most popular product is his signature six-citrus gin, Gin aux Agrumes, which is made using the aforementioned citrus, but his first product was a bitter orange liqueur, now called l’Orangerie. It wasn’t until much later that a friend suggested he consider using the carob. Having spent summers in Monaco as a child (before eventually moving there full-time 14 years ago), Culazzo was familiar with the sight of the evergreen carob tree. Each September, the long, snake bean-like fruit would fall to the ground, eventually turning brown and littering the streets.
“[My friend] handed me a carob husk and said, ‘Do you know what this is? You should do something with it,’” explains Culazzo. “I didn’t understand the significance of it at first. The carob tree is the national tree of Monaco. It’s really emblematic to the Monegasque, after the fruit helped the local population to survive famine in the 19th century.”
Culazzo then began the process of attempting to work with the carob, but it wasn’t an immediate success. “It took me a while to figure out how to bring out the flavors,” Culazzo admits, but he eventually got it right.
After harvesting, the beans are extracted, and the husks are crushed and roasted at a nearby coffee roastery before a long, slow maceration. The result is a rich, chocolate-brown aperitif with notes of caramel, chocolate, coffee and just a hint of vanilla. In total, it takes around eight months from tree to bottle.
“It was all about roasting the beans in a process not dissimilar to roasting coffee, where you need to keep a certain percentage of humidity in the bean and roast it to the correct strength,” Culazzo explains.
After some trial and error, Carruba hit the market in 2019. It has a spicy-sweet flavor, similar in taste to products heavy on maple syrup or brown sugar, and now in its fifth year, has become one of the distillery’s most popular products. It has also picked up a following outside of Monaco, along the French Riviera. At the nearby Hotel Le Negresco in Nice, for example, Carruba is kept in stock and often used in the cooler months, thanks to its rich, warm, honey-like flavor.
The hotel’s mixologist and chief barman, Benjamin Larbi, first learned about the liqueur in 2022, and has been experimenting with bespoke cocktails ever since. “It’s much better suited to fall and winter than to spring and summer, thanks to those warm, toffee flavors, so that’s when I tend to use it,” Larbi tells Observer. “Not only is it an interesting flavor, but it’s part of our DNA to champion and use local products. Plus, it has a great story to it. When guests visit, they want something local; they want to taste the south of France, so Carruba is an excellent option.”
His first creation was a Carruba sour (a take on the amaretto sour), and it has remained his preferred Carruba cocktail, though he has played around with Manhattans and martinis, as well. “I would also like to try it simply with a coffee—like an Irish coffee, but with Carruba. These rich flavors would complement each other very well,” he suggests.
Culazzo agrees. “We drink it year-round. It’s great in an affogato with ice cream, coffee and Carruba, and in our Espresso Monte-Carlo, which is a riff on an espresso martini.”
Recently, Carruba has gained the attention of chefs around the world, and not just for drinks: Alain Ducasse uses it in cocktails in his restaurants in Japan, and between courses in the Monegasque palace, chef Christian Garcia serves a Carruba granita to the royal family. At his restaurants in Paris, Yannick Alléno revisits the classic tarte au pomme with a carruba cream, while Mauro Colagreco offers a foie gras with Carruba glaze.
The Distillerie has even created a decadent chocolate with a rich Carruba-infused fudge—dangerously moreish and conveniently stocked at the local Nice airport.
Despite its international success, Carruba remains intrinsically linked to the Principality of Monaco, thanks to Culazzo’s philosophy of keeping production hyperlocal. There are only 115 carob trees in Monaco, but the distillery has managed to continue to source the product from elsewhere within the region. The church in nearby Cap d’Ail, for example, offered its own small harvest for the distillery’s use.
“I hate the word ‘authentic,’ because it’s lost all meaning,” says Culazzo, gesturing to the sign in the distillery window. Above the logo for l’Orangerie are the Monegasque words ‘liqù autenticu,’ which translates to ’authentic liqueur.’ “But I really do mean it. Everything we do is linked to Monaco—the Monaco beneath the surface. Carruba is the perfect example of that.”
