Southern Hospitality

Southern Comfort was created by an Irish immigrant named Martin Wilkes Heron who came to the states in 1870 and worked at a saloon in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Blending the flavors of peach, orange, vanilla and cinnamon he came up with Southern Comfort in 1874 as an alternative to the harsh whiskeys of Mississippi and Kentucky.

Southern Comfort was first bottled in Memphis Tennessee in 1889, selling for the very high (at the time) price of $2.50 per bottle. By the turn of the century there were countless imitations of Southern Comfort, but the secret recipe was carefully guarded. In 1904 the distillery was moved to Missouri for the World's Fair in Saint Louis where it won the gold medal alongside Jack Daniels Sour Mash Whiskey.

Although the distilleries of Southern Comfort were halted during prohibition in the 1920s, the guarded recipe resumed production after the eighteenth amendment was repealed in 1933. Even today only ten people know the recipe to Southern Comfort, which is available in 60 countries worldwide and bottles 2.2 million cases of the drink per year.

While the liqueur is distilled and bottled in Saint Louis, Mo. it still remembers its roots in New Orleans and has set up the Southern Comfort Music Fund to help New Orleans Musicians get back on their feet after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

Please drink responsibly. The preceding post was sponsored by Southern Comfort Company, Louisville Ky.