Texas-and-Louisiana-raised, Atlanta-based mixologist Tiffanie Barriere has put together a red celebration drink — refreshing with or without alcohol — for Juneteenth. Raise a glass to soul, hope, and freedom this summer!
by Tiffanie Barriere
Video by Lynsey Weatherspoon | Photos by Chuck Marcus
Juneteenth is America’s second independence day. Although it has long been celebrated among African Americans, this holiday has flown under the radar for many Americans of other cultures.
Here’s a quick history lesson: The Emancipation Proclamation — declaring all enslaved people in Confederate states as legally free — went into effect on Jan. 1, 1863. But it was not immediately implemented in every state still under Confederate control. In the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people did not learn of their freedom until more than two years later — two months after the Civil War had officially ended. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, with an executive decree freeing the state’s 250,000 enslaved people. The Black community in Texas has been celebrating this day as “Juneteenth” ever since.
When I was growing up in Houston, Juneteenth was a jubilant time — a celebration of Black freedom that families and communities began to prepare for long before the day itself. The summer kickoff and holiday party started soon after the school year ended. In Black neighborhoods, the parks and pools would start to fill up and become surrounded by barbecue grills, laughter, and the sounds of soul music playing through the open windows of cars and houses and speakers set up on porches and picnic tables.
For the annual Juneteenth parade, we would sit on our cars and porches eating watermelon as we watched the horses, majorettes, marching bands, and flags wave in bright red, white, and blue. The flag was as big as Texas and it read FREEDOM.
Everyone in the parade was Black. Everyone was smiling. Joy was in the air. The churches and house parties alike would keep their doors open so you could hear their laughter. Everyone was welcome to drop by and enjoy a plate and take a sip of the red drink being served.
Red foods are customary for Juneteenth, the color a symbol of the bloodshed and resilience of the enslaved. Juneteenth tables traditionally brim with watermelon, Texas Pete hot sauce, and red velvet cake.
According to culinary historian Adrian Miller, red drinks — which rule the bar at Juneteenth parties — have their roots in West African and Caribbean beverages that came to the United States through the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved people stewed hibiscus flowers to make a reddish-purple tea called bissap, Miller points out, and they mixed powdered kola nut (one of the ingredients in Coca-Cola) with water to make a refreshing, naturally stimulating drink. This practice of adding reddish substances to make sweet, palatable drinks was common and naturally made its way to the Juneteenth celebration table. Soon, red-colored drinks — like the Texas-made soda Big Red, introduced in 1937 — had become part of the Juneteenth culinary tradition.
All I know is that when I was growing up in Houston, every household, every church, and every party had its own version of the red drink. We never knew what it was, but we would drink as much as we could so our tongues and lips could be red and sweet.
These memories take me back to the jubilee of Juneteenth. With my version of the red drink in hand — I call it Jubilee Juice — I offer a toast to hope, soul, and freedom.
2 ounces favorite spirit (optional)
2 ounces hibiscus tea OR pomegranate juice
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey syrup*
Ginger beer
Favorite fruit (for garnish)
Method: Add to a cocktail shaker ice, alcohol of choice (if using), the tea or pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and honey syrup. Shake well. Fill a large, ice-filled glass halfway with ginger beer. Top with shaken contents and garnish with your favorite fruit.
*To make your own honey syrup, mix two parts honey with one part warm water.
Tiffanie Barriere — aka The Drinking Coach — is an influencer and educator who has been awarded some of the beverage industry’s highest honors. The Bar Smart graduate is a Tastemakers of the South Award winner who spent seven years as the beverage director of One Flew South, which Tales of the Cocktail named the “Best Airport Bar in the World” in 2013. As an independent bartender, Tiffanie is known for creating innovative cocktail menus for pop-up dinners, hosting mixology classes around the nation, and connecting culinary and farm culture with spirits. She is a member of the Tales of the Cocktail Grants Committee, the James Beard Advisory Board, and a member of the Atlanta chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier. She has presented at the demonstration stages of prestigious food and hospitality events such as the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, Charleston Food & Wine Festival, BevCon, Tales of the Cocktail, Savannah Food & Wine Festival, Music to Your Mouth, and more. As an author-contributor, Tiffanie’s cocktail recipes can be found in The Southern Foodways Alliance Guide to Cocktails by Jerry Slater and Sara Camp Milam; Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin; and Road Soda by Kara Newman. She also shared a seasonal gin-based cocktail with yellow beets for The Bitter Southerner Cocktail Series.
Chuck Marcus is an Atlanta-based freelance photographer. Born and raised in New York City, Marcus has over a decade of experience shooting for numerous brands and publications such as Adidas, New Balance, Essence and Blavity. See more at ChuckMarcus Photography.
Lynsey Weatherspoon is a portrait and editorial photographer based in both Atlanta and Birmingham. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, ESPN, and ESPN-owned The Undefeated. Her work has been exhibited at the African American Museum in Philadelphia and Photoville NYC. See more at LynseyWeatherspoon.com.
