Kotas Reviews Southern Comfort

Ah, the New Year is here! You know what that means, finishing up all the crap you put off until the New Year! With that in mind, let's take a look at something I consumed in 2014, but didn't get around to writing about until now: Southern Comfort.

These seems neither Southern nor comforting.

I've already reviewed their entry into the eggnog realm, and that inspired me to check out the actual booze. Southern Comfort is a fruit and spice (with whiskey flavoring) liqueur originally born out of New Orleans' French Quarter by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron but now owned by a giant corporation. It comes in numerous proofings (100, 70, and 42) and versions (Special Reserve, Lime, Bold Black Cherry), but our specimen is the 70 proof original version. I most remember it from a taste long ago and those annoying "SoCo and Cran" commercials from years back. What I remember is that it is sweet. Let's see how she looks in a glass.

Yes, that is a Harvard Shot Glass. Classin' it up here at KRE!

Well, it looks...brown. This is not at all a surprise, actually. The scent is very sweet with fruit overtones and a bit of whiskey in there as well. The taste? Sweet. Super Sweet. Sickly Sweet. It is very fruity and it has some spice, but mostly what I taste is too much sweetness. It's not awful, but it is overwhelming and changes the focus of the drink from the fruit, spices, and whiskey to the sugar. This is not a good thing at all. Sweetness should accentuate other flavors, not sideline them. A little ice helped, but it was still very sweet.

Not to be deterred, I dumped it into some leftover eggnog (no, not the namesake brand). Lo and behold, it was good. Really good. I won't call it a perfect matching, but the eggnog and booze melded together very nicely and it was a fruity, spicy, boozy eggnog that was delicious. I was honestly surprised, given I was mixing sweet with sweet but gosh darn it, it worked.

On the FACE Rating System, I give Southern Comfort 1 smiley face. The flavor is nice enough if you can cut the overwhelming sweetness back, and it mixes very well (with eggnog at least), but it's not a sippin' liquor by any stretch. Unless maybe you are Willy Wonka.

Kotas Reviews Southern Comfort Eggnog

Welcome to Day 4 of Eggnog Week! There exists a concept in marketing known as cross promotion. Selling cheddar cheese? Maybe put some crackers on the same display, because crackers and cheese is a classic snack. Frozen Apple Pie? Maybe hang a plastic pie server or three near the case. There is also the concept of vertical integration. Why sell just cheese when you can break into that awesome cracker market? Do you make pasta? Might want a branded sauce to go along with it. Today's example is probably the oddest pairing of these two concepts I've encountered, Southern Comfort Eggnog.

Seriously, I would have never guessed this was a thing.

You know, when I think of Southern Comfort, I do not think "I hope they produce an eggnog!" Southern Comfort, for those of you who don't know, is an American fruit and spice liqueur that was the favorite drink of one of my old bosses. I've not actually had the stuff in a long time, but I remember it being very sweet. Still, I would not have expected a liquor company to make eggnog, but I suppose it is a classic pairing. Let's pour a glass!

Ready for action!

It looks good in the glass, maybe just a touch more off white than the Mayfield brand. The scent is a bit stronger than Mayfield as well, and it is thinner in consistency. The taste has a sharp hit of "the nog", definitely bolder than the Mayfield, but it tapers off fairly quickly with additional sips. The flavor is...sharper? More nog essence than Mayfield, but it doesn't linger as long. It's very good, actually and will definitely satisfy your noggin. 

I still had some rum, so in it went. Wow, now I see why it has the flavor profile it does. The strong flavor stands out more from the rum when the two are blended, such that the eggnog and rum are more like partners than one taking a back seat to the other. I think that this eggnog, probably by design, is better suited for mixing with booze than Mayfield, even if it isn't quite as good straight up. Of course, given the branding, this makes perfect sense. Well played, Southern Comfort. Well played.

On the FACE Rating System, this gets 2 smiley faces. Straight up it's pretty darn good, though I prefer the Mayfield. With booze though? This is the clear winner, so pick your nog accordingly. Nogheads will still find a lot to like about this, even without booze, so I recommend you pick yourself up a carton, settle back, and find some Comfort this holiday season.

Post Script!

If you are looking for the Real Deal in Eggnog, mosey on over to Experiments from the Bar. He has a nice little discussion about eggnog going on over there, and of course he includes a recipe!