This festive drink is commonly served during the Christmas season in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, but nothing's stopping you from enjoying this refreshingly spiced drink all year round. This recipe makes enough to serve a large party of people, so feel free to half it in order to reduce to 6-8 servings, or use less water for a stronger drink.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Steeping Time4 hourshrs
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Caribbean, Jamaican
Keyword: sorrel
Servings: 16servings
Author: Monique Creary
Ingredients
4litreswater(less if you like your sorrel strong)
100gramsdried sorrel (hibiscus)(3.5oz)
200gramsfresh ginger(smashed or sliced)
1orange rind(peeled)
2stickscinnamon
5allspice (pimento) berries
5whole cloves
2cupsgranulated sugar(or 1 cup of rich simple syrup)
250mLdark rum(optional)
250mLRed Label wine (or other fortified wine)(optional)
Instructions
In a large stock pot, bring four litres of water to a boil.
Stir in the dried sorrel, smashed ginger, orange rind, cinnamon sticks, allspice, and cloves. Remove from the heat.
If using granulated sugar, stir it while the mixture is still hot to help dissolve the granules. If using simple syrup, wait until the mixture is cool.
Allow the sorrel to steep (or "draw") for at least four hours (or overnight in the fridge) to attain the best flavour.
Set a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour in the sorrel. Discard or compost the steeped ingredients.
Stir in the rum and Red Label wine, if using, to the strained sorrel liquid. Transfer into a pitcher or punch bowl (the remainder can be put into mason jars and refrigerated). Serve chilled.
Video
Notes
It's best to allow the sorrel to steep (or "draw") overnight. But a minimum of four hours should be sufficient.
Dried sorrel is more potent than fresh sorrel, so keep this in mind when steeping. Sorrel drink can always be diluted with water if it's too strong.
If you know you love the taste of sorrel, feel free to reduce the amount of water in the recipe from 4 liters to 3, for a stronger taste.
Ginger is an important part of this drink. If you're a ginger-lover like myself, use the amount stated in this recipe. Mash it with a meat tenderizer or the back of a knife inside a zip top bag if you want a strong flavour. Otherwise, slice them into small pieces or just use less.
Adding in the sugar while the sorrel is still hot will help dissolve the crystals easier than it would if you added it to the cold drink. The two cups in this recipe seemed to be a good amount of sweetness common for this drink, but you can use a 1 1/2 cups instead. If you wish you add more, I recommend adding it to individual glasses, since there's differences in sweetness tolerance with people.
Using simple syrup makes sweetening sorrel a lot easier, and guests can choose to add more to their drink if desired.
Red Label wine is a well-known Jamaican fortified wine. If you don't have any on hand and would like a spiked drink, you can use an alternate sweet wine, or just rum.
Virgin sorrel can be stored in the fridge for about a week. If you added a lot of rum or other liquor, then it can last in a sealed container in the fridge for over a month.