Juneteenth at Luke's

Every year on June 19th we honor Juneteenth; the day in 1865 when freedom was proclaimed for all enslaved people, even though the Emancipation Proclamation came two years before that. Juneteenth is often overlooked in our nation's history so today at Luke's we want to take some time to highlight a couple ways that we are reflecting on this important day.

Earlier this month we launched a new cocktail called the Sea Smoke (more on that later) at our flagship restaurant in Portland, Maine as well as at our Grand Central Terminal location. The key ingredient in the cocktail is a hibiscus liqueur called Sorel. During a time when African and Indigenous people were not allowed to read or write, the recipe for sorrel (also known as “red drink”) was passed down through generations orally with no official recipe documented. Jackie Summers, founder and creator of Sorel and the first Black American to receive a distiller’s license in the United States post-Prohibition, wanted to honor the 500-year legacy of the hibiscus concoction. Inspired by his Bajan heritage, Jackie solidified sorrel’s legacy by creating the first and only shelf-stable sorrel liqueur, Sorel. It's a great drink to pour and raise a glass in honor of Juneteenth.

Our Sorel cocktail, the Sea Smoke, is named after the lobster boat we use for our Lift All Boats student lobster mentorship program. The program is designed to help students from historically disadvantaged communities get their lobster license. The only way to become a commercial lobsterman is to wait in a decades-long waitlist or complete a student lobster license program, which requires mentorship and training from industry insiders, which we offer to students who wouldn’t otherwise have access. $1 from every Sea Smoke sold will be donated directly to the program to help fund gear, fuel, student stipends, guest speakers, and more.

So this Juneteenth...shop at a Black-owned business, support a Black-centered initiative, and help spread the message of Juneteenth.But any time this summer, consider stopping by Luke's Lobster Portland Pier or Grand Central to not only honor the spirit of Juneteenth with a “red drink” but also to support an inspiring Black-owned spirits company and contribute to a program that works to create a more diverse Maine lobster fishery.