One year after its return to market, Sorel celebrates a spree of industry awards and explosive cross-country distribution, solidifying the trend prediction that 2022 is the year of hibiscus

Sorel, the hibiscus liqueur inspired by sorrel, the ancestral Afro-Caribbean beverage, is the most-awarded liqueur of 2022. Sorel returned to shelves in October 2021 with the support of Fawn Weaver and the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund, which invests in BIPOC/minority-founded spirits businesses. The spirit swept every major beverage award this year with Gold honors or higher, and as Sorel approaches the first anniversary of its relaunch, founder Jackie Summers–acclaimed author, activist, entrepreneur, and self-taught distiller–reflects back on the last year to acknowledge the forces that brought this reincarnation to life.

“With Sorel’s second iteration, I’ve learned the importance of finding the right partners–whether financial backers, business consultants, or bartenders–and letting them do what they do best,” says Jackie Summers, Founder of Sorel. “The key to our success has been about putting values over valuations, which is an atypical approach, but it works every time. Our relationship with Uncle Nearest has been fruitful because it’s not just a transactional investor relationship–we share the vision of honoring heritage and history through spirits.”

Sorel earned a collection of coveted accolades during the 2022 spirits awards season, including top-ranking honors and distinctions from the industry’s most important spirits awards:

• ADI International Spirits Competition – Best of Class (Bottled & Blended Spirit – Liqueur), Best of Category (Bottled & Blended Spirit – Herbal/Botanical/Spice Liqueur), Double Gold (Spirit Excellence)
• American Craft Spirits Association – Innovation Award
• Chilled Magazine – Chilled 100 Spirits Awards – Breakout Brand, 97 Points
• Craft Distillers Spirits Competition – Best of Class; 93 Points
• Distiller Magazine – 5/5 Star Rating
• Distillery Awards – Diamond Certification
• Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition – Gold Medal
• Great American International Spirits Competition – Best in Show; Platinum Medal
• John Barleycorn Awards – Double Gold (Bottle Design), Gold (Packaging Design)
• Micro Liquor Spirit Award Competition – Triple Gold (Spirit), Triple Gold (Packaging Design), 97 Points
• New Orleans Spirits Competition – Best in Category, Gold Medal
• New York International Spirits Competition – Double Gold, 96 points
• San Francisco World Spirits Competition – Gold Medal
• Singapore World Spirits Competition – Gold Medal
• Sip Awards – Platinum Medal
• Ultimate Spirits Challenge – Chairman’s Trophy, 96 points, Top 100 Spirits, Extraordinary Ultra Recommendation
• Wine Enthusiast – Spirit Brand of the Year finalist (2021), 94 Points (2022)
• World Liqueur Awards – Best American Herbal Liqueur
• Craft Competition International Awards – Gold Medal

Sorel is currently sold in retail shops, hotels, bars, and restaurants across the country, with distribution in 20 states planned by the end of 2022, and nationwide availability in 2023.

In March 2022, Summers was honored among the inaugural class of Food & Wine magazine’s “Drinks Innovators of the Year,” and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Bar World for the fourth year, ranking at #29. Earlier this year, Summers was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Media Award for his personal essay All the Food You Can Eat and Only The Family You Can Stand (Epicurious). Most recently, he was included among Wine Enthusiast’s Future 40 class of people shaping the way we drink.