Southern Comfort’s beginnings date to the New
Orleans of a century ago. Located where the Mississippi River flows
out of the heart of America, New
Orleans was a major port, a city where a multitude of different cultures
mixed, and urban refinements met the rough energy of the American frontier.
The institutions born of that mixing include both the unique American liquor,
Southern Comfort, and the uniquely American music of the blues.
The
barkeeping practices of a century ago tended to the rough and ready side.
Whiskey was the
most widely sought spirit. Most whiskies were sold by the barrel and usually
were left open by bars for easy serving. Few whiskies were sold by brand
name; quality was often hit-or-miss. For more discriminating tastes, fine
liquors were both imported from overseas and made locally, and many bars
and clubs developed their own special cocktails and mixed drinks. (click
photo for MIDI)
Into this setting came a young man named M.W. Heron, full of bright ideas for improving the drinking habits of his time. Heron created a smooth and delicious, full-bodied liquor with a touch of sweetness, a mellower aroma and a rich amber color. He called his unique liquor Southern Comfort.
M.W. Heron kept the recipe for his special spirit a close secret and perhaps that contributed to its success, for Southern Comfort was soon known and respected all along the lower Mississippi Valley.
By
1889 Heron determined to try his product’s fortunes in Memphis,
another major Mississippi
River port. Within a year, Heron had opened his own bar near Beale Street,
in this town that was soon to grow famous for blues, which had also traveled
north from New
Orleans. Southern Comfort was growing famous too; by the 1890s Heron
was bottling it to meet growing demand. According to an original label,
a fifth of Southern Comfort sold for $2.50 – quite a lot of money for those
days. (click photo for MIDI)
Soon
after the turn of the century, Heron moved on to larger and faster-growing
St. Louis, the "Gateway to the West" and an important stopping-off
point for blues making its way to Chicago.
In St. Louis Heron opened what was to become one of the city’s most appreciated drinking establishments.
A famous sign on the wall of Heron’s bar read:
The product’s fame and popularity continued to grow. When the Southern Comfort Corporation of St. Louis began selling the brand after the repeal of Prohibition in 1934, it was already known throughout the U.S.A.
Popularity
increased with the introduction of the Scarlett
O’Hara cocktail named after the heroine of "Gone
with the Wind", the famous movie released in 1939. During the
next few decades Southern Comfort became known around the globe, acquiring
a following of consumers in major world markets. (click
photo of Rhet & Scarlet kissing)
Today, this unique American spirit created by M.W. Heron a century ago
is still one of a kind, and still made according to a secret formula. With
its smooth, full-bodied taste, mellow aroma and rich color, Southern Comfort
continues to win friends at home in America and abroad.
Comfort Through the Years:
This pictorial tour is fun with lots of interesting
reading. And we've really 'conspired' to load it with some great MIDI files
- So Happy Hunting!
The legend of Southern Comfort, the true American spirit, extends from
New Orleans in
the late 1880s through war, peace, depression, prosperity, rhythm, blues,
and the ever-changing American scene. Through it all, Southern Comfort
has been as smooth as ever.
1800's -Southern Comfort is Born -
In
New
Orleans, the city where the blues were born -- and if that doesn't
say "Take It Easy," what does? -- enterprising bartender M.W.
Heron combines a barrel of fine bourbon with secret ingredients to mellow
and slightly sweeten the rough edges. Southern Comfort is born, and a cheer
is heard around the world. (click photo for MIDI)
1889 - A Move to Memphis
Heron
moves and takes Southern Comfort with him to another bluesy city, Memphis,
opening a bar near Beale Street. In addition to serving Southern Comfort
at his bar, Heron begins bottling it to meet customer demand. One fifth
sells for the munificent sum (for the day) of $2.50. that's $8,000 today,
more or less. "None Genuine But Mine," the label reads. In fashion
news, women wear corsets, bustles, hoop skirts and petticoats, while men
sport derby hats, bow ties and spats. On purpose. <g> (click
photo for MIDI)
1900 - A Move to St. Louis -
Following
the river, Heron moves to St. Louis, where trumpet master W.
C. Handy is gaining a following with his "St.
Louis Blues". In his new bar, Heron serves a St. Louis Cocktail
made with Southern Comfort, and a sign advises: "Limit 2 to a customer.
(No gentleman would ask for more.)" Southern Comfort is a big hit
as people toast the turn of the century. 1904 - Meet Me At The Fair -
At
the World's Fair in St. Louis,
Southern Comfort wins a blue ribbon for its excellent quality and mellow
taste. The Tilt-a-Whirl has yet to see the light of day, so people spin
in circles for amusement. (click photo for MIDI)
1920 - Prohibition Enacted (Boo!)
Prohibition
is enacted and all alcohol is prohibited, except for medicinal purposes.
Doctors'
phones ring off the hook. 
(click photo, medical bag, AND phone for MIDIS)
Bessie
Smith records "Nobody
Knows You (When You're Down and Out,)" an enduring classic that
Eric Clapton will
re-record on his 1994 "Unplugged"
album. Wall Street sing the blues as well, as the stock market crashes.1934 - Prohibition Repealed (Yeah!)
Prohibition
is repealed, and Southern Comfort is once again available. Sales materials
proclaims: "There is no mixed drink which is not the better if made
with Southern Comfort. One taste - a revelation. Two - an experience. Three
and you're a salesman." 1939 - "Frankly My Dear...."
The
release of "Gone
with the Wind" gives birth to the Scarlett
O'Hara cocktail, made with Southern Comfort, cranberry juice and lime.
The Southern Comfort Corporation says it combines "the delicate scent
of magnolia blossoms with the kick of a Missouri
mule." Fiddle-dee-dee.
(click
on fiddle for MIDI)
1943 - Comfort in the Skies
During
World War II, Southern Comfort takes to the air - in the form of several
U.S. warplanes named for the drink. The drink becomes a favorite of U.S.
servicemen and women, all the more valued because of its scarcity. In music
news, a big hit is "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on
the Streets of Yokohoma with My Honolulu Mama Singin' That Beat-O, Beat-O,
Flat-on-My-Seat-O, Hirohito Blues." Really. (click
on photo for MIDI)
1946 - Postwar Progress
As
life unfolds in postwar America, Southern Comfort begins advertising in
national magazines such as Newsweek. In addition, the brand produces a
cocktail shaker as a promotional item. It
sells for $5.95, and is now worth about $82,000, give or take a thousand.
Blues
singer Clyde McPhatter records "Rocket 88," a driving song that
heralds the beginning of rock and roll. Former General Dwight D. Eisenhower
is elected with the slogan "I Like Ike." Southern Comfort remains
well-liked, as well. (click photo for MIDI)1953 - Suburbs Here We Come!
Millions
of couples marry, have children, move to the suburbs and buy wood-paneled
station wagons - not always in that order. They also invent the early-evening
cocktail hour, and Southern Comfort's popularity - mixed in such drinks
as Manhattans
and Old-Fashioneds
- skyrockets. The economy is rocking and rolling as well, and by the mid-1950s
America's production will be at an all-time high. Adding to Southern Comfort's
cachet - and to the cash reserves of some 20,000 consumers - are specially-made
banks of a Confederate Soldier
shooting coins into a bottle of Southern Comfort. By 1965, 90 percent
of the money
saved in the banks will have been spent on Beatle
wigs or white go-go boots.
(click photo for MIDI)
1954 - Big Mama Sings The Blues
Big
Mama Thornton records "Hound
Dog". It's a big seller, but within two years, Elvis
Presley's recording of the song will be one of the best-selling records
ever. 
Elvis
himself will become huge - in terms of fame as well as in terms of bulk
- in the coming decades. Meanwhile, the likeness of another son of the
South, General Robert
E. Lee, graces a Southern Comfort decanter made of Limoges porcelain
during the holiday season. Are these similarities a coincidence? Probably.
1955 - Canasta, anyone?
When
the card game Canasta sweeps the nation, Southern Comfort is Johnny-on-the-Spot
with a drink recipe called "Canasta Collins." A new kind of music
is also beginning to sweep the nation. Carl Perkins' hit recording of "Blue
Suede Shoes" begins a debate - it is rock or is it blues? Debaters
decide not to debate and dance instead. In New York, a young Elvis Presley
auditions for the "Authur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" TV show. He
is rejected! (click on photo for MIDI)
Southern
Comfort echoes the relaxed pace of earlier days by featuring a riverboat
in its advertisements. Less relaxed is Elvis
Presley, who explodes onto the music scene - some adults consider his
bodily movements so lascivious that on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
he is photographed only from the waist up. (click
photo for MIDI)
The
Beatles herald a "British Invasion" of pop music that will last
for most of the 1960s. Who can forget those early hits such as - "I Want
To Hold Your Hand" - "She
Loves You" - "Please Please
Me" - "You
Really Got A Hold On Me" - "We
Can Work It Out" - "Tell
Me Why" - "Love
Me Do" - "Do
You Want To Know A Secret?" - "Eight
Days A Week" - and "Michelle".
Parents across America don earplugs and pour a Southern Comfort on the
rocks to relax.1968 - Thanks Janis!
Rocks/blues
legend Janis Joplin often enjoys
Southern Comfort, and it's rumored that the mink coat she wears on the
"Pearl"
album cover was a gift from the company. In lesser music news, emcee Bert
Parks sings "You Can't Be Caught Nappin' with Your Generation Gappin'
" at the Miss America pageant. (click photo
for MIDI)
1976 - Happy Birthday USA
America Celebrates its 200th anniversary, and Southern Comfort celebrates
almost 100 years of quality and smoothness. The current fad of men's platform
shoes, on the other hand, fades quickly. (click photo
for MIDI)
1979 - Hey Look - A Brand New Drink
Southern
Comfort's quality has endured for over 100 years, but a new generation
is convinced that they have discovered a smooth, mixable new drink.1985 - Happy Birthday B.B.
Guitar
legend B.
B. King, a native son of Itta Bena, Mississippi, and producer of his
own kind of Southern Comfort, celebrates his 60th birthday on September
16th, and 2 years later he is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame. King got the nickname
in 1949 when he became a full-time disc jockey on WDIA, a Memphis radio
station. Calling himself the "Beale Street Blues Boy", it was
later shortened to "B.B."
(click photo for MIDI)
1989 -Bonnie Meet "Grammy"
After
years of paying her dues, Blues singer-guitarist Bonnie
Raitt releases her "Nick
of Time" album and wins multiple Grammy awards. Seven years later,
she appears in a surprise performance at Southern Comfort Rocks the Blues
first concert in San Francisco. (click photo for
MIDI and HERE
for lots of Bonnie Raitt lyrics)
1996 - Singing The Blues
"The
Southern Comfort Rocks the Blues" tour begins, and thousands of fans
across the country are treated to the coolest crooners, the hottest howlers
and the growlin'-est guitar licks. With guest appearances by George Clinton,
Buddy Guy,
Koko Taylor, and much, much more. Check out the tour dates in your area!
(click the photo)
1998 - Blues Rocks On
The
"Southern Comfort/House of Blues Tours & Talent Rock 'N Roots"
tour kicks off in '98 to even more acclaim! Stay tuned! (click
on photo for more information)
Watson
has detected 71 MIDI Files on this page!!!
Click
to view a list of MIDI files on this page
Click
to download this list
