# is southren comfort real whiskey ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [July 5, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543 "2019-07-05T00:59:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/1 "2019-07-05T00:59:14Z")
ok in a thread about the jim beam fire I started a side discussion about if southren comfort was considered real whiskey : > [@Fire massacres 45,000 barrels of innocent bourbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-massacres-45-000-barrels-of-innocent-bourbon/836524/14): > > heh if you wanna start a fight go into any halfway decent bar and ask " for a glass of that one whiskey…what’s it called southern comfort" > since she had just turned 21 and never drank in her life the bartender and regs forgave her… but the debate was endless > [@Fire massacres 45,000 barrels of innocent bourbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fire-massacres-45-000-barrels-of-innocent-bourbon/836524/15): > > I’m a dunce: when I mentioned Beam and eggnog earlier, I meant [Southern Comfort (and eggnog)](https://images.app.goo.gl/8qBRKcWYuEE8nZQq9). For Xmas. Yummy! > > Thanks for the kick in the pants, **nightshadea** , I needed it. > ETA: Get this: the SC website calls itself whiskey, while Wikipedia says it’s a whiskey-flavored liqueur. I’m not getting in the middle of this. So my question fellow dopers is soco real whiskey… whiskey flavored or a spirit all by its self ? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/2 "2019-07-05T01:15:28Z")
Where’s the “Bad Whisky” category? I’ve always assumed it’s a cheap blended whisky, right? But now I’m doubting that, so I’m not voting. I loved it, what, fifty years ago? Wow. But haven’t tasted it since. Maybe I should… For us Midwestern kids raised on crappy beer, it was a gateway booze. It showed us that there were tasty brown drinks out there. But I barely remember the whiskies we drank with coke or 7-Up (“Ah, yes, we of course are Of Age, my good man. And as such, I’ll have a Seven and Seven, and a Comfort and Coke for my Also Very Adult date…”). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/3 "2019-07-05T01:16:46Z")
Also according to Wiki, it originally had a whiskey base. The current owners are planning to restore that. > [@](#): > > Brown-Forman purchased the brand in 1979. In January 2016 Brown-Forman sold it to Sazerac Company, along with Tuaca, as part of a $543.5 million deal.[8]\*\* Sazerac announced that Southern Comfort’s formula would be changed in 2017 to restore whiskey as the base spirit,\*\* as the original formula used. Sometime before Brown-Forman purchased the brand, it had been reformulated to use neutral spirit, with only a negligible amount of whiskey as a flavorant The [website](https://www.southerncomfort.com/) refers to SC as whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/4 "2019-07-05T01:21:29Z")
It’s not whisky, not really a debate. I might look at the website to see where \*\*burpo the wonder mutt \*\* saw them claiming to be a whiskey but the bottle says “liqueur”. Eta:in Canada anyway. The labels look different on the website. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/5 "2019-07-05T01:39:48Z")
Whether it has whiskey as a base or not, it is not in and of itself a whiskey. It is a liqueur, much in the same way Drambuie is a scotch liqueur. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/6 "2019-07-05T01:42:12Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > It’s not whisky, not really a debate. I might look at the website to see where \*\*burpo the wonder mutt \*\* saw them claiming to be a whiskey but the bottle says “liqueur”. > Eta:in Canada anyway. The labels look different on the website. [Here ya go:](https://www.southerncomfort.com/) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/7 "2019-07-05T01:44:23Z")
No, it’s not whiskey. It’s not even made from whiskey, although as noted, the new owners are changing that. It’s just flavored vodka. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/8 "2019-07-05T02:37:18Z")
Liqueur. Excellent flavoring agent for my deep-dish peach pie, but undrinkable. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/9 "2019-07-05T03:00:47Z")
thanks to a particularly bad night when I was 17, I can’t even smell SoCo or any whiskey without gagging. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/10 "2019-07-05T07:22:06Z")
thats me and tequilia but i was 21 … ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/11 "2019-07-05T14:42:21Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > It’s not whisky, not really a debate. I might look at the website to see where \*\*burpo the wonder mutt \*\* saw them claiming to be a whiskey but the bottle says “liqueur”. Wow, they have no shame. They call it whiskey a number of times on their home page: > [@](#): > > We’ve been crafting our smooth-drinking whiskey for over 140 years, ever since our founder M.W. Heron created the ‘The Grand Ole’ Drink of the South’ way back in 1874. Back then, he was fond of saying ‘None Genuine But Mine’ and it still holds true today – as whiskey lovers around the world reach for the unmistakable, smooth-drinking flavor of Southern Comfort. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/12 "2019-07-05T14:45:36Z")
How should we vote if the answer is “No, it’s a separate spirit?” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/13 "2019-07-05T15:34:06Z")
Of course it’s not a whiskey. It’s a liqueur. It’s no more a whiskey than Drambuie is Scotch or Grand Marnier is oranges or Kahlua is coffee or Amaretto is almonds. Back in college (when the drinking age was still 18) I and my friends used to drink it because it went down easier than straight whiskey. But even then we were under no illusions that it was some kind of whiskey. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/14 "2019-07-05T15:35:22Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > How should we vote if the answer is “No, it’s a separate spirit?” I fail to see the distinction between the third choice in the poll and “no.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/15 "2019-07-05T15:49:37Z")
SoCo is at best, whiskey-adjacent. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/16 "2019-07-05T16:32:32Z")
I’ve never had it. I developed a taste for real whiskey early (19, bright college years) and never needed to drink sweet stuff. I was going to post “Southern Comfort is Bourbon like Drambuie is Scotch,” but I’ve been beaten to the punch (har!) at least twice. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/17 "2019-07-05T16:41:20Z")
Containing whiskey does not make Southern Comfort whiskey, any more than rum cake is rum. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/18 "2019-07-05T16:43:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I fail to see the distinction between the third choice in the poll and “no.” I assumed the OP meant the third option to be “it’s its own special category”, which is why I felt comfortable with voting “no” as it’s in the well established category of a liqueur. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/19 "2019-07-05T16:50:23Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > SoCo is at best, whiskey-adjacent. Other than the Drambuie I mentioned, Yukon Jack is another example of a whiskey-based liqueur. Taking whiskey and adding sweeteners and flavorings to it make it a liqueur. And, somewhat surprisingly, as mentioned before, SoCo apparently [for many years wasn’t even whiskey-based](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/08/dining/southern-comfort-whiskey.html) (from 1979 to 2017 it was based on a neutral grain spirit) so calling it a whiskey then made even less sense (or, more emphatically, absolutely no sense.) ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543/20 "2019-07-05T17:05:57Z")
Original Southern Comfort is 35% abv and therefore can’t be whiskey even if they changed its base to something that had been distilled to something less than neutral. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-southren-comfort-real-whiskey/836543.md?page=2)