Marcus Samuelsson Honors Aretha Franklin With Black History Month Cocktail

Food lovers often have to rely on their imaginations to get a taste of their favorite food celebrities' handiwork. Most of us will never dine on a roast chicken made by Ina Garten, a pot of mac and cheese made by Sohla El-Waylly, a cookies-and-cream pavlova made by Eric Kim, or a plate of meatballs made by Carla Lalli Music. Instead, we have to put faith in our recipe-following skills and hope the result tastes something like the original.   

In other cases, talented recipe developers double as chefs who helm restaurants that exist outside our minds. Fans of the Ethiopian-born, Swedish American chef Marcus Samuelsson —  who, at 24, became the youngest chef to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times — can experience the chef's culinary creations at 13 restaurants around the world. 

One of those restaurants is Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House, where Samuelsson serves up Bahama-centric dishes that star fresh seafood and local ingredients. It's also the site of the latest installment of the chef's Black History Month menu series, which showcases special items inspired by influential Black figures throughout the decades. This week, soul music legend Aretha Franklin is getting the spotlight in the form of a cocktail. 

Marcus Samuelsson took to Instagram on Feb. 13 to share the latest Black History Month specials on deck at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House, each of which "[honor] African American trailblazers." There's a cocktail for Cato Alexander, who helmed what Eater calls the "sportiest roadhouse in America" for three decades in the 18th century. There's a pecan pie for Martin Luther King, Jr., who spent time — and wrote his final speech — in Bimini, Bahamas. Finally, there's a "fiery yet beautifully balanced" bourbon cocktail for Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul who also served as a powerful civil rights activist. 

If you can't make it to the Bahamas this week, put on "Chain of Fools" and try making it at home. The libation, appropriately dubbed "The Soul Queen," features jerk pineapple syrup, passion fruit liqueur, coconut water, and a dash of bitters, served with an Amaretto cherry and a slice of pineapple.