In this wide-ranging conversation with Jackie Summers, creator of Sorel, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How Jackie has led a life of continuous transformation on his way to creating Sorel: battling a spinal tumor, leaving a successful corporate career, and becoming America’s first black distiller since Prohibition.
• The intriguing wellness and flavor properties of hibiscus, which has more vitamin C than most citrus fruit, but that can be problematic as a single-note flavor.
• Why it took hundreds of test batches and experiments to perfect this product, which comes to us as the result of centuries of stolen bodies, stolen spices, and a resilient oral tradition that sings at the genetic level.
• The difference between “Sorrel,” the drink and “Sorel” the brand, by way of some apt wisdom from Jackie’s childhood speech coach.
• Along the way, we cover the terroir of North African Hibiscus, why liquor years are like dog years, what to drink with the philosopher who went toe-to-toe with Machiavelli, and much, much more.

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