Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper Review

Disclaimer - Southern Comfort has always had a special place in my heart – as I am sure it does for many people.  Due to its sweetness, for some of us, it was probably one of the first “Whiskies” we ever drank.  In many cases – that nostalgia factor does carry some weight with a product, and while my tastes have evolved, I did want to throw that in there before I got into the review.

Southern Comfort Pepper Review

I’ve heard about Southern Comfort Pepper for some time now, but just haven’t seen it anywhere locally to purchase.  To be fair, I haven’t gone out of my way to locate it either – but it just doesn’t seem to be getting the shelf exposure I thought it would. 

Well, the other day, I was at my local Moser’s Grocery Store (in rural Missouri) and saw several bottles on the discount shelf. 

Normally, this is no big deal – I see some great stuff on that shelf from time to time (including Cask Strength Laphrioag) – and I believe this is due to the local market not being as keen on certain liquors as other markets. 

The price was less than $10, so I thought what the hell – I like Whiskey (flavoring), I like Tabasco Sauce (remember Prairie Fires Alby?) and I like drinking.  This should have been a win/win.  On top of all this, I was going to spend a week in New Orleans (more reviews on that coming), so what a way to kick things off.  In the end, I wish I would have bought a case of Stag.

From the Southern Comfort Website (ironically, the only site I have seen that uses Wikipedia as a source for their own history)

Southern Comfort is an American liqueur made from neutral spirits with fruit, spice and whiskey flavourings. The brand was originally created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, and is now owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation. Although the original product contained whiskey, the current formula for Southern Comfort only contains whiskey-tasting flavoring rather than actual whiskey (except for the premium version called "Special Reserve").

They self describe their “Fiery Pepper” product as being -

A tantilizing mix of sweet and spicy.

I’m going to forgo my usual review style here and just jump to the point.

I should have known something was wrong, when I poured into the glass (notice the Whiskey Disk) and amount of bubbling (not carbonation), combined with the coloring, reminded me of my urine when dehydrated.  I actually had to rush to grab a camera to capture the effect. 

I was almost repulsed right out of the gate, but then I smelled the drink and literally almost gagged, it having a nose that I can only describe as “indescribable”.

The taste was so bad (again, I use the term “indescribable”), that I turned to Debi (who wretched when she tried it) and said that, for the first time, I could not finish the drink.

Considering that by adding the Tabasco brand to the product, one would think there would be a certain level quality and spice to the drink – instead Southern Comfort has created a product that I am going on record as calling this frontrunner for “Worst Product of the Year”.

In the end, I would be embarrassed to serve Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper to anyone at my house….not even as a joke.  To prevent this, I decided to dispose of in an appropriate manner – as inspired by the first pour.