Southern Comfort is the best-known brand of bourbon liqueur, but it’s sadly seen a decline in quality in recent years, owing to a switch from the original recipe. The original recipe was something like a bourbon-based “fruit brandy.”
Spirits historian Chris Morris describes the early process: “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 his sweetener: he liked to use honey.” Something akin to the original product can be found in duty-free shops as “Southern Comfort Reserve.”
