Surprise! Southern Comfort Has No Whiskey. But Soon It Will.

[elleng]

'When the Sazerac Company bought Southern Comfort from the liquor conglomerate Brown-Forman last year, the business motivation was clear.

“If you and I ended on a desert island and there was a bottle of liquor, there’s an even-money chance it would be Southern Comfort,” Mark Brown, the chief executive of Sazerac, said in a phone interview.

Very likely. But it’s also a 50-50 proposition whether any castaway would actually drink it. Southern Comfort has long borne a double-edged reputation as being both famous and infamous.

The blend of spirits and fruit and spice flavorings is a storied brand, with roots that are believed to go back to the 19th century, and it can be found in nearly every bar in America. Yet it is widely regarded as the drink of unwise youths and undiscriminating palates. The last time it was cool may have been when Janis Joplin made a show of swigging it day and night. (The company thanked her for the free advertising by giving her a fur coat.)'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/dining/southern-comfort-whiskey.html?

[PJMcK]

1. Last time I drank Southern Comfort...

...was in college nearly 4 decades ago. My then-girlfriend and I used it to wash down some pot brownies we had made. We both ended up with the worst hangovers. Haven't sipped or wanted it since.

[elleng]

2. I don't think I've EVER had it.

[PJMcK]

3. It's disgustingly sweet (n/t)

[Warpy]

4. It was the easiest thing to choke down straight

I never liked mixed drinks other than G&T, it seemed like a way to ruin nice fruit juice. Alcohol tasted nasty to me, always did, so I'd try to drink it neat, get a little addled, and get on with the show. Stand up acts took four shots and a beer for two shows a night. Southern Comfort went down without making me cough, so that's what I used. Otherwise, I wasn't much of a dinker.

So I remember the stuff somewhat fondly although I haven't tasted it for 40 years. If I were the putative castaway and I thought I could drink it without getting a migraine, you bet I'd drink it. Then I'd get maudlin about the good old days that weren't really that good and I'd never drink again.

[TygrBright]

5. It's quite useful for cooking. n/t

[rsdsharp]

6. I rarely drank it

and not at all since my college days more than 40 years ago. Back then I referred to it as the Dr. Pepper of whiskies, even though it had no whiskey in it.