🥃 Southern Comfort

Southern Comfort is an American whiskey-based liqueur with fruit and spices, created in New Orleans in 1874 by the bartender Martin Wilkes Heron. The strength depends on the version: 35% ABV in the classic, 40% in Black and 50% in 100 proof. Since 1 March 2016 the brand has belonged to Sazerac.

The drink was first called "Cuffs and Buttons" and appeared in McCauley's tavern. In 1889 Heron moved the business to Memphis and patented the recipe. In 1979 the brand was bought by Brown-Forman, which kept it until 2016; during that time, according to descriptions, the whiskey base was replaced with neutral spirit. Sazerac paid $543.5 million for the brand, and from 2017 whiskey became the base again. So the claim that Brown-Forman is the owner is out of date. Hence the differences between descriptions: old and current bottles may have a different base.

The producer does not disclose the exact list of fruits and spices, so we do not name specific fruits: all that is known is that the liqueur is naturally flavoured. Besides the 70 proof, there are Black (40%) and 100 proof (50%); in the US there is also a 21% ABV version.

Why this matters to you. Southern Comfort is a liqueur, not a whiskey: catalogues often confuse the two. It contains sugar and flavourings, and the strength differs between versions (21-50%), so check the label. The recipe has changed: old and new bottles may differ in their base. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe dose of alcohol.