Since the colonial era, African Americans have been the nation’s distillers and brewers. Yet, when Jackie Summers launched a micro-distillery to make his Sorel Liqueur in 2012, he was the first Black person in America to receive a license to make liquor since prohibition. Like his predecessors, Jack used African ingredients and techniques to create a distinctly American beverage.
Join Jackie and Ramin Ganeshram (culinary historian with an expertise on colonial-era foodways in the Caribbean diaspora, chef, and executive director of the Westport Museum of History and Culture) as they discuss the food and drink legacy of the African Diaspora. As you sip on Sorel, you’ll learn more about Jack’s story, West African hibiscus, and the red drink that made its way from Africa to the Caribbean to Brooklyn.
This program is 21+. Ticket includes access to Flavor: The World to Your Brain from 6 to 7 PM, snacks, and four tastings of Sorel Liqueur.
JACKIE SUMMERS
is a James Beard Finalist, seasoned public speaker, and serial entrepreneur. Summers is the founder of JackFromBrooklyn Inc. and the creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur.
His accolades include: being named among the inaugural “Drink Innovators of the Year” by Food & Wine Magazine, being named among the inaugural “Wine Enthusiast Future 40,” being ranked among the world’s “100 Most Influential Bar Industry Figures” by Drinks International Magazine (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), being named to the “The 50 Most Influential People In Brooklyn Food” (Brooklyn Magazine, 2015), being named to the “Imbibe 75” (2021), and being named the 2019 Award winner for “Best Food Essay” by the Association of Food Journalists. He served 3 years as co-chair of the Education Committee for Tales of the Cocktail and 3 years as co-chair of the Education Committee for Bar Convent Brooklyn. He currently sits on the Vibe Advisory Council.
Jackie has written for everyone from the James Beard Foundation to Plate, Wine Enthusiast, VinePair, Epicurious, Delish, and Edible Brooklyn. His flagship brand, Sorel Liqueur, is the most-awarded liqueur American made liqueur of all time, having secured hundreds of gold (or better) awards.
RAMIN GANESHRAM
is an award-winning journalist and historian, who has been the Executive Director of the Westport Museum for History and Culture (an American history museum dedicated to its mission of "Making History Whole" by surfacing hidden stories of diverse communities that contribute to the American experience) since 2018. Ganeshram’s area of study is colonial-era American history, particularly focused on enslaved African Americans and mixed-race people. Research for her 2018 novel, The General’s Cook, led Ganeshram to discover the real-life fate of Hercules Posey, the chef enslaved by George Washington, and solving a 218-year-old historical mystery.
For her work as curator of Westport Museum’s 2018–19 exhibit, “Remembered: The History of African Americans in Westport,” Ganeshram received the prestigious award for Leadership in the Museum Field from the New England Museum Association (NEMA). The exhibit also won awards of merit from the Connecticut League of History Associations (CLHO) and the coveted Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).
In 2019, Ganeshram was also awarded the Paul Cuffe Memorial Fellowship for the Study of Minorities in American Maritime History. She is a 2022/23 Fellow at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon. Ganeshram is currently working on a book about how the Caribbean influenced North American cuisine as part of the Atlantic Trade.