Florita Dandelion is a Haitian bitter and digestif from Florita by Velier, built around a tropical variety of dandelion, with both the leaves and the dried flower heads forming a central part of the recipe. It is bottled in 350 ml at 47.3% ABVand made from sugarcane alcohol together with citrus, bark, woods, roots, spices, and other natural Haitian botanicals. The production method is maceration, giving it a concentrated and distinctly herbal-bitter profile.
As for the producer, Florita is part of the Velier universe and grew out of Velier’s work in Haiti. The range emerged from an encounter with the country’s rich use of spices and botanical essences, as well as the Haitian tradition of using them in both food and drink. The Florita line draws on older recipes for digestive and medicinal bitters from the Caribbean, and the bottle design is intentionally inspired by old apothecary bottles for bitters and elixirs.
In flavour, Florita Dandelion comes across as more herbal and more bitter than the more citrus-driven expressions in the range. The dandelion base gives it a dry, slightly earthy, and herbaceous character, while the sugarcane alcohol and the other botanicals add structure, spice, and aromatic depth. The overall impression is mature, bitter, and quite distinctive, with a clear link to older Caribbean digestif styles rather than modern sweet aperitifs.
It is best enjoyed neat or over ice in small servings, where it works especially well as a digestif, but also as a characterful component in cocktails. For anyone looking for something more herbal, bitter, and unusual than a classic European bitter, Florita Dandelion is a very distinctive bottling with a clear Haitian identity.
