Florita

By Velier

During our travels in Haiti, we discovered two very beautiful things. One is the wealth of spices and botanical essences in which the island is still very rich; the other is the tradition of Haitians to use the various spices in their typical popular cuisine. In this context of discoveries, it was Herbert Linge who got us thinking about producing a variety of products ranging from bitters, bitters, liqueurs, and typical Haitian cordials. We presented them in this range, with a bottle that we love very much and that, herself, pays homage to the Haitian tradition.

Overview

History

Named after a legendary colonial hotel in Jacmel, Florita's take on ancient recipes for digestive and medicinal bitters that were produced by Caribbean families and, over the years, also by rum distilleries. In numerous cocktail books, especially French ones from the early 1800s, cocktail recipes appeared that involved the use of "amers," which were nothing more than bitters made from sugarcane distillates, spices, fruits and botanicals from the Caribbean colonies. Compared to classic bitters, however, they can be consumed neat or on the rocks in small quantities, and are all made from natural ingredients. These are ancient recipes, which were kept in a recipe book of Herbert Linge Sr., master distiller of the Distillerie de Port au Prince and producer of Providence rum. The bottle - designed by Luca Gargano - echoes the style of the ancient bottles used by apothecaries to package bitters and elixirs.

Production Method

Floritas are made from botanicals and herbs, spices or fruits, by steeping. Native ingredients used in the different bitters include Amande-Pays, the fruit of a wild almond tree that lives on all tropical beaches; Haitian ginger; bois cochon; bandé lianas; zo d'ouvant; citrus grandis and other typically Haitian citrus. Florita Piment Bouk is a syrup made from the crystalline juice of sugar cane slowly cooked over a wood fire and flavored with the famous Haitian bouk pepper.