Jack From Brooklyn, Sorel, Recommendations, Drink, Where to drink, What to drink, Cocktails, Shops, Where to shop, Spices, Brooklyn, Red Hook, Gowanus, Williamsburg, Carroll Gardens, German, Bars, German, Steak, Restaurants, Where to drink cocktails in Brooklyn
Recommended By
- Bartender Sother Teague of Amor y Amargo, Book & Dax, Dram, Prime Meats and Guthrie Inn in New York City.
Q & A
Who
Jack Summers is the creator of Sorel, a hibiscus liqueur produced by Jack From Brooklyn, along with partners Alan Camlet and Timothy Kealey.
Why
After receiving a diagnosis that he had a life-threatening spine tumor and told to “put his affairs in order” with a five percent chance of living, Jack Summers quit his day job to follow his dream and Barbadian heritage. He joined forces with Alan and Tim to produce the hibiscus-based liqueur, Sorel.
Sorel Liqueur | Jack From Brooklyn
July 12, 2012
Brooklyn, NY
Photographs courtesy of Jack From Brooklyn
Q & A with Sorel Liqueur Creator Jack Summers
Q. How did you start making Sorel?
A. I’ve been making this recipe for 15 years. It’s a variation on a centuries-old Caribbean recipe. The natives in the Caribbean would take hibiscus plants and ferment them and then add cane sugar and rum and serve it hot at Christmas. My grandparents came here in the 20s from Barbados, so this is part of my heritage.
Part of the problem with the versions from the people who immigrated here is that hibiscus is really acidic and they would over-cut it with sugar and it then becomes cloying, instead of being refreshing.
Q. What goes into Sorel?
A. We combine hibiscus, cassia, cloves, nutmeg, dried ginger, cane sugar and neutral grain spirits in our distillery in Red Hook. We bottle it, label it, and sell it.
The clove is right on top for brightness. Beneath the clove there’s cinnamon to add warmth, right in the middle there’s the heat of ginger which masks the heat of the alcohol. You’ll feel the alcohol, but you’ll never taste it.
Q. Is there a moonshine version of it in the Caribbean?
A. It would be called ‘Sorrel’ and it’s made differently from island to island. For example, if you go to Jamaica they do hibiscus, allspice and orange peel. If you go to Trinidad and Tobago, they do nutmeg and clove. My heritage is from Barbados.
Q. How would you suggest people use Sorel?
A. We believe truly talented mixologists will do things with this that we never ever thought of. It’s like discovering a new colored crayon. They’re doing things we never imagined, painting pictures that we hadn’t dreamt of. We would like to see Sorel as a color you must paint with if you are a cocktail creator, that’s my ultimate dream.
Q. What is your favorite way to enjoy it?
A. I wake up in the morning, I put two fingers in a shot glass, I heat it up, put it in microwave, that’s my coffee.
Brookyln Recommendations
Find | Stores
Sahadi’s
It’s the best! It was the place I went to buy spices, before I started buying spice wholesale.
[See details.]
Drink | Cocktails
Dumont
It is about the entire ambiance and the atmosphere. I always judge how serious a place takes their cocktails by the quality of their ice. Their ice is crystal clear and perfect. It’s a place where they really the art of making a drink.
The bar at Fort Defiance
Photo Credit: Find. Eat. Drink.
I really like Fort Defiance. They’ve got a terrific selection of brown waters and some really interesting cocktails.
Prime Meats | Cocktails at The JakeWalk
Photograph courtesy of Prime Meats | The JakeWalk
You get a burger and bourbon, it’s the best. The guys there really take the cocktails seriously. I’m not a cocktail drinker, but the selection of liquors there is amazing and they really do believe in the experience.
The Jakewalk
It’s one of those places where it feels to me like Cheers. It’s the right amount of food, the right cocktails, and great ambience. It’s the whole thing that comes together.
[See details.]
Cocktail Recipes
Recommendations
Details of Jack Summers’ recommendations on where to drink and shop in Brooklyn, NY.
City Guides
- NYC | Brooklyn City Guide: Download
- NYC | Manhattan City Guide: Download
