Jackie Summers is an American microdistiller, writer and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Jack from Brooklyn. In 2012, he became the first Black person in the United States to be granted a license to make

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

post-

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

Early life

Summers is of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

descent and is originally from

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. His grandparents immigrated to the United States from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in the 1920s. According to Summers, "when I was growing up, there was always a pitcher of

sorrel Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...

, a type of

hibiscus tea Hibiscus tea is a herbal tea made as an infusion from crimson or deep magenta-colored calyces (sepals) of the roselle (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') flower. It is consumed both hot and cold. It has a tart, cranberry-like flavor. Consumption Africa ...

, in the kitchen. After the kids were in bed, the adults would put a splash of rum in it". Jackie's father was a pianist (playing with

Louie Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

, and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, among others) and his mother worked as a research scientist.

Career

Jack from Brooklyn

After a cancer diagnosis in 2010 resulting in the removal of a tumor near his spine, Summers resigned from his job as a publishing executive to start Jack from Brooklyn (a nickname of his) to make Sorel Liqueur, a modern version of the roselle-based Caribbean beverage. In 2012, he became the first Black person in the United States to be granted a license to make liquor. Summers' small-batch sorrel liqueur is a deep garnet color, and along with hibiscus, is also flavored with

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...

s, cassia,

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. After the Jack from Brooklyn distillery was damaged in Hurricane Sandy, Sorel relaunched in 2013, operating until Jack from Brooklyn paused production in 2015. In October 2021, the brand relaunched after an investment from the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund.

Other work

Before becoming a distiller, Summers worked in magazine publishing. Summers has also written for ''

Edible Brooklyn ''Edible Brooklyn'' is a Brooklyn-based food magazine and website that covers local food and drink culture, restaurants, ethnic eats, farmers markets, food-related events and articles on such topics as a live poultry market in Williamsburg, and wh ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

'', and ''Plate''. In 2019, his essay "Rice is at the Intersection of Poverty" was awarded Best Food Essay by the

Association of Food Journalists The Association of Food Journalists (AFJ) was a US-based professional organization that operated from the early 1970s through 2020. It was created to promote high standards for journalists reporting and writing on food, the food industry, restaura ...

. In April 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, he and Daniella Veras launched a Virtual Happy Hour on

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

that became popular.

Recognition

In 2014 ''Brooklyn Magazine'' named him one of the 50 most influential people in Brooklyn food. He was named to ''Drinks International's'' list of the 100 most influential people in the bar world in 2019, 2020, and 2021. In 2019 he won an American Food Journalists award for Best Food Essay for his piece for ''Plate'' magazine, "Rice Is at the Overlap for Poverty and Comfort". In 2021 he was named to the ''

Imbibe ''Imbibe'' is a magazine published in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is published six times a year. The magazine covers beverages of all kinds, including spirits, wine, beer, coffee, and tea. History The first issue of ''Imbibe'' was rele ...

'' 75 People to Watch list. In 2022, Summers was named one of

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

's Drinks Innovators of the Year. His

Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Foo ...

piece "All the Food You Can Eat and Only the Family You Can Stand" was nominated for a 2022 James Beard Foundation Award.

References

External links

Jack from Brooklyn website

Sorel Liqueur website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Jackie American people of Barbadian descent American people of Caribbean descent Businesspeople from Brooklyn People from Brooklyn American drink distillers Living people American chief executives 21st-century American businesspeople 1967 births