Florita Pete Panno is an unusual and extremely powerful Haitian bitter from Florita by Velier, rooted in older Caribbean traditions of digestive and medicinal bitters. The Florita range grew out of Velier’s work in Haiti, inspired by the island’s rich use of spices, citrus, and botanicals in both food and drink. According to Velier, the range draws on old recipes preserved in Herbert Linge Sr.’s recipe book, and the bottle itself was designed to echo old apothecary-style containers for bitters and elixirs.
Pete Panno is the most extreme expression in the line-up. It comes from Haiti, is bottled in 350 ml, and carries a remarkable 94.2% ABV, with sugarcane alcohol as its base. It is produced by maceration of citrus, bark, woods, roots, spices, and other natural Haitian botanicals. Velier also describes it as a bitter historically used in traditional Haitian medicine.
The recipe highlights ingredients such as Haitian ginger, clove, bois cochon (Tetragastris balsamifera), liane bandé(Rhynchosia phaseoloides), zo d’ouvant (Eugenia crenulata), and malaguette leaves (Pimenta officinalis). The result is a profile that feels hot, herbal, spicy, and intensely concentrated, with strong impressions of ginger, pepper, green herbs, and clove. Retail descriptions also point to notes of black pepper, freshly cut grass, and lemon verbena.
For that reason, this is not really a bitter for casual sipping in the usual aperitif sense. Velier recommends a few drops on a spoon as a digestif, or using it as an aromatic bitter in cocktails. With its extreme strength and concentration, Florita Pete Panno is better understood as a flavour tool than a classic sipping product — a highly distinctive bottling for anyone looking for something deeply Haitian, powerful, and completely out of the ordinary.
