Review: Southern Comfort Black

Once we final explored Southern Consolation manner again within the mid-2010s, it had traveled an uncomfortable distance from the long-lasting liqueur popularized by Janice Joplin. Underneath the possession of Brown-Forman, SoCo had turn into a automobile for a number of closely flavored aberrations, together with Lime, Gingerbread Spice, and Black Cherry. {That a} model flavored with Tobasco was truly our favourite of the lineup just about tells you every little thing you might want to know concerning the high quality of those former SoCo incarnations.

In 2016, Sazerac acquired the model and shortly did away with the flavored choices. Extra importantly, they reformulated the recipe to extra carefully replicate the unique from 1874, changing impartial spirit with precise whiskey. Whereas the advertising and marketing round this one stresses the newfound whiskey-ness of this contemporary SoCo, it’s nonetheless technically a spirit whiskey, which means at the very least some impartial spirit stays within the combine. As for the way the most recent model of this liqueur achieves its “contact of stone fruit and spices,” your guess is pretty much as good as mine. Let’s simply be grateful it’s not basically flavored vodka. The fashionable SoCo lineup now contains Janice’s go-to Southern Consolation Unique (bottled at 70 proof), Southern Consolation 100 (bottled at 100 proof), and this center little one, Southern Consolation Black (previously Southern Consolation 80, 80 proof). Sazerac despatched us a pattern for overview, however I’ll be trustworthy, people; to be able to pretty decide this one, I’m going to should repress lots of unlucky school reminiscences. Right here goes.

The nostril is much less “school” than I keep in mind, in order that’s an encouraging begin. The sweetness remains to be the obvious element of the aroma with numerous candy-inspired notes: cinnamon jellybeans, bubble gum, and cocktail cherries, amongst others. There’s much less stone fruit than the unique, changed by one thing nearer to limeade. For all that candy fruit on the nostril, the palate reveals real restraint with extra bourbon-styled flavors of caramel, cinnamon, and brown sugar balancing out the cherry juice and candied lime peel and making for an expertise nowhere close to as suffocatingly syrupy because the SoCo of yesteryear. The end even sees a little bit of woody spice that provides a fleeting impression of one thing approaching bourbon. Whereas the outdated Southern Consolation was a questionable shooter at greatest, Southern Consolation Black is one thing I might fortunately play with in a cocktail and perhaps, simply perhaps, sip neat.

80 proof.

B+ / $18 / southerncomfort.com [BUY IT NOW FROM DRIZLY]

Southern Consolation Black

$18

Ranking

8.5/10

About Put up Creator

Drew Beard

Drew Beard is Assistant Editor and Social Media Supervisor for Drinkhacker. He has studied and written about beer, whisk(e)y, and different spirits since he first began consuming them, incomes a number of booze-related benefit badges alongside the best way, together with Licensed Specialist in Spirits and Govt Bourbon Steward. Along with his work with Drinkhacker, Drew can also be Spirits Editor for Santé Journal. A recovering Federal authorities worker, he’s completely satisfied to have lastly discovered a profession the place it’s acceptable to drink on the job.