No Christmas vacation in Jamaica is complete without a large glass of Sorrel, ideally accompanying a moist wedge of heady, all-spice & rum Christmas Cake. If you haven’t knowingly experienced Sorrel before, but perhaps like Red Zinger Tea, then you will like Sorrel as that is the tea’s primary ingredient.
At Hotel Mocking Bird Hill we also like to serve Sorrel blended into our Sundowner & New Year’s Cocktails, with a good measure of Appleton’s Rum, Pimento, Ginger and, for those that like an extra little bit of a sweetener, a measure of Port – quite delicious to sup while the sun sets, and of course to celebrate the onset of a New Year or Decade!
Forever health conscious we also love that this is one cocktail which, thanks to the Sorrel, helps the body naturally counter the effects of alcohol and other free radicals; its high level of anti-oxidants and detoxifying ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is on a level with that of Cranberry and Pomegranate juices, so if you are looking to enjoy a cocktail without the guilty conscience (or some of the other consequences of gentle tippling), our Sorrel-imbued Sundowners’ naturally detoxifying qualities will allow you to sip and be merry, no problem!
Officially Jamaican Sorrel is known as Rosella plant, or Hibiscus Sabdariffa, and the reason it is enjoyed over the holiday period is not only the apparent symbology of the petals’ apropos seasonal colouring, but that this is the season when the plant is harvested; unlike it is more ornamental sister the straight hibiscus, it is not the flowers that are the prize but rather the flesh calyx that surround the seedpod, and if the harvest is good enough we make conserve with this too for guests to enjoy later in the year.