Sorel Liqueur

A FIVE HUNDRED YEAR JOURNEY with roots in the Caribbean, Sorel is a modern twist on a timeless classic. Born of the spice trade, versions of sorrel date back to the 1600s, when hibiscus flowers were first imported to the New World from West Africa. Valued for its medicinal properties, Jackie Summer’s grandparents carried this culinary tradition with them when they emigrated from the island of Barbados to Harlem NY in the 1920s. In 2012, following a life-threatening cancer scare, Jack left a 25-year career as a corporate executive to pursue the American dream of entrepreneurship. Looking to his grandparents for inspiration, he perfected the first-ever shelf-stable recipe of this 500-year-old beverage in his kitchen, launching the micro-distillery Jack From Brooklyn. At the time when Jack received his Distilled Spirits Permit (DSP), he was the only Black person with a license to make liquor in America, and the first to hold this license, post-prohibition.

Made with Moroccan hibiscus blended with Brazilian clove, Indonesian cassia and Nigerian ginger, this bright red liqueur from Brooklyn is a modern twist on an exotic classic.

 

From Jackie Summers:

 

This is not my story. This story began hundreds of years before I was born. This is the story of my ancestors who were stolen from West Africa. This is the story of my grandparents, who emigrated from the island of Barbados to the tenements of Harlem NY in the roaring 1920s. I may never fully understand the sacrifices that were made in order for me to carry this story forward. This story has gone on for centuries. I am merely its steward. And now you are part of the narrative.