Southern Comfort
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| Type | Liqueur |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Brown-Forman Corporation |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1889 |
| Proof | 100, 80, 70, 60, 42 |
| Related products | List of bourbon producers |
Southern Comfort is a "fruit, spice and whiskey flavored" neutral grain spirit-based [1] liqueur produced since 1874, though not always by the modern formula. The Brown-Forman Corporation owns the Southern Comfort brand.
Southern Comfort is available as 100 US proof (50% alcohol by volume), 80 US proof (40% alcohol by volume), 70 US proof (35% alcohol by volume) and 42 US proof (21% alcohol by volume). Southern Comfort Reserve is a blend of Southern Comfort and 6-year-old bourbon and is 80 proof. Outside of the Americas, Southern Comfort is distilled in Fox & Geese, just outside Dublin City, Ireland.
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[edit] History
Southern Comfort was first produced by Irish bartender Martin Wilkes Heron (b. 1850 – d. 1920), the son of a boat-builder. Legend says it was first created and sold at McCauley’s Tavern at the corner of Richard and St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.[citation needed] However, St. Peter Street and Richard Street do not intersect, but Richard Street does intersect with S. Peters Street in the Lower Garden District near the Mississippi River.
He later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1889, patented his famous creation, and began selling it in sealed bottles with the slogan "None Genuine But Mine" and "Two per customer. No Gentleman would ask for more." Southern Comfort won the gold medal at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Missouri.
In an episode of The Thirsty Traveler entitled "A River of Whiskey," spirits historian Chris Morris describes the original recipe of Southern Comfort. Heron would begin with the best bourbon he could find and would add: "An inch of vanilla bean, about a quarter of a lemon, half of a cinnamon stick, four cloves, a few cherries and an orange bit or two. He would let this soak for days. And right when he was ready to finish he would add this sweetener, he liked to use honey."[2]
The plantation depicted on the label of Southern Comfort since the 1930s is Woodland Plantation, an antebellum mansion in West Pointe a la Hache, a small town in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Woodland Plantation, which is registered on the National Register of Historic Places, now operates as a bed and breakfast.
[edit] In cocktails
Southern Comfort is used in the creation of many popular cocktails, including "Alabama Slammer", "Red Death", "A Piece of Ass", "Red Devil", "Greek Sex on the Beach", "Crash & Burn", "'57 Chevy", "Sloe Comfortable Screw", ""SoCo Hurricane", "SloScrew", "Slo Sunrise", "Rickstasy", "SocaCola","SoCoCello" and "SoCo-LoCo", "SoCo Manhattan", "Blind Andy", "SoCo Andy", "Liquid Cocaine", "Steamboat" and "Funky Cold Medina". Southern Comfort and club soda make a drink called "an old woody".
One of the earliest Southern Comfort-based cocktails to be marketed was the Scarlett O'Hara, concocted in tribute to the release of the film adaptation of Gone with the Wind in 1939. The mixture includes Southern Comfort, cranberry juice, and fresh lime.[3]
In a more recent advertising campaign, the company suggests mixing it with lime juice to make a Soco and lime.
When Southern Comfort is taken as a shot and chased with orange soda, it gives the distinct taste of an Orange Creamsicle. Another popular mix that incorporates juice is the "Adam's Apple," a combination of Southern Comfort and apple juice. Apple cider can also be used in this drink.
In New Zealand, Southern Comfort is often mixed with Lemon & Paeroa.
[edit] In popular culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2008) |
- Southern Comfort has sponsored web-based show Diggnation up until, and including, episode 119; New Orleans rock band Cowboy Mouth for the last several years, specifically their Mardi Gras themed tour bus; the Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Southern Comfort Music Experience.
- In Tennessee Williams's play "A Streetcar Named Desire", Blanche finds a bottle of Southern Comfort in the pantry.
- In Kurt Vonnegut's book "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater", Elliot Rosewater is often depicted as drinking Southern Comfort
- Southern Comfort gained popularity for being the drink of choice of singer Janis Joplin,[citation needed] as she often kept a bottle on stage during performances.
- "Southern Comfort" is also the title of different songs by:
- Johnny Cash (album Ragged Old Flag, 1974)
- Amanda Palmer (album Who Killed Amanda Palmer, 2008)
- Southern rock band Fight Paris
- Nashville Country musician Jimmy Aldridge
- Portland-based indie rock band The Gossip (album That's Not What I Heard, 2001)
- Shooter Jennings (album Put the "O" Back in Country, 2005)
- Kid Rock (album Bawitdaba, 2000)
- Burial (musician) (on his self-titled EP)
- Southern Comfort is also referenced by the Atlanta based Rehab (band) as the title of their second album Southern Discomfort
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "A River of Whiskey". Kevin Brauch. The Thirsty Traveler (Fine Living). http://www.fineliving.com/fine/thirsty_traveler/episode/0,1663,FINE_10176_41042,00.html. No. 402, season 4.
- ^ CocktailTimes.com > History of Southern Comfort
Anthony Hamilton's Album of 2008
[edit] External links
- The Southern Comfort official site (Flash 8 Player required)
